Dark Blue
by Wildly Obsessed
Summary: The infamous piano kiss revisited. AU. What if Tristan hadn't let Rory slip through his fingers in the breakup, pt 2? What if one kiss wasn't the only thing they shared that night?
1. A Perfect Start To The Evening

**AN:** Woo new story :P. This is the one I've been blocked on. But don't worry, I've got 5 chapters to unblock myself. You can't really get a gist of what's happening yet, but here we go. As always, reviews are so appreciated

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_**A Perfect Start To The Evening:** Introducing Tristan's Public Humiliation_

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_I have (I have) you breathing down my neck (breathing down my neck)  
_I don't (don't know) what you could possibly expect under this condition

_I'll wait (I'll wait) for the ambulance to come (ambulance to come)  
Pick us up off the floor_

_This flood (this flood) is slowly rising up swallowing the ground  
Beneath my feet, _Tell me how anybody thinks under this condition_ so  
I'll swim (I'll swim) as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down  
And now all I can see are the planets in a row  
Suggesting_ it's best that I slow down

_This night's a perfect shade of_  
**Dark blue** (dark blue)

-Jack's Mannequin

xXx

This was officially the worst party I had been to. Oh, the alcohol was free running, the food was fine, and hell this was Madeline's house so it's not like the sound system was lacking. But I was just about ready to rip out my hair thanks to goddamn Summer. She can be such a difficult _bitch_.

"Tristan, stop it." She told me, her voice thick with irritation after I finally managed to track her down. She had been brushing me off all night.

"You're making me chase you around the whole party!" I snapped back.

"Just trying to have fun."

"Okay, you won't talk to me; you won't dance with me, why the hell did you even come with me?"

"Stop yelling." Goddamn it I wasn't fucking yelling. But if I _was_ yelling I would have every right to do so. She was acting like a precocious four year old.

"Summer, please. Can we just go?"

"No."

"Please." I stared at her imploringly, waiting for her to relent. She would relent.

"No. I'm sick of fighting with you. I'm sick of hearing 20 times a day _'You're my girlfriend'_."

Maybe I wouldn't have to remind her of that 20 times a day if she could maybe not run around slutting it up with half the school. God, I couldn't believe she was doing this. I thought she'd have slightly more character than to bitch out in front of pretty much everyone we knew.

"Okay could we possibly do this somewhere where a roomful of people _aren't_ staring at us?"

"I think we should break up."

I think I swallowed my tongue.

Tell me I'm hearing things.

I blinked at her. I can honestly say I have never been so taken aback at hearing those six words.

I've been broken up with before, but that's usually after I'm more than ready to move on and had just been holding out on dumping the chick myself- maximizing the time I'd have to fool around with them. It's usually rather amazing how long a girl will hold on to you even when she knows you're not in it any more, just hoping that their suspicions were wrong. I can get at least two weeks of screwing around squeezed in before she finally gives up.

But I hadn't thought Summer would do this. I hadn't… she changed the way things were done.

"Okay, I really want to go outside and talk about this."

"Then go. Bye." With an indifferent air that stabbed into me, she walked away from me.

"Summer come on!"

I should have seen this coming.

I should have seen this coming.

_Did_ I see this coming?

As I clenched my jaw and made my way out of the room, the corner of my eye noticed a familiar brunette watching me.

Thank you, divine entity. Rory Gilmore had seen the whole thing.


	2. First Kiss

**AN: **Thanks as always to my reviewers, I love you guys :) This was the story that was originally slated to be a oneshot, but I figured it wasn't reasonable to post a 70 page oneshot haha. Hope you like.

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_**1. First Kiss**:_ _Mary Runs Away (Bible Boy Gives Chase)_

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I was trying to find my way to the stack of Smirnoff's and Bailey's I knew was nearby (this was definitely not my first visit to Madeline's place) when I caught the sideway glances people kept directing my way. They probably thought they were being discreet. Or maybe they didn't care that I knew they were gawking and whispering about me.

Feeling a shot of disgust surge through me, I abruptly turned away from the curious eyes and zeroed in on an empty room. The piano was in there and I knew Madeline would've warned people not to go anywhere near it if they were drinking, dancing, or fucking. Naturally, that cancelled out the entire population of the party.

Sitting down on the piano bench, I brushed my fingers over the keys and sighed.

I had been with Summer for a long time. Longer than I spent with most girls. And now she's made me the laughing stock of all of Chilton.

A slight noise made me look up. I almost rolled my eyes. Of course there would be one person in this place who wouldn't be drinking, dancing, or fucking. Sweet little Mary wouldn't dream of it. Too good to be a sinner like the rest of us.

"Oh sorry." She apologized hesitantly. She looked embarrassed.

"No problem." I waved it off. You can't expect to be left alone at a house party, I guess.

The girl didn't come any closer to me. She stood by the door uncertainly and naturally the first thing that comes out of her mouth is that she's sorry about what happened between me and Summer.

I tried not to sound upset when I told her that I didn't want to talk about that particular subject.

Rory nodded slightly and walked closer to me, standing so that the piano was physically between us. She rested her forearms against the piano, loosening up around me.

Oddly enough, Rory then commented about our last biology exam. She got a B.

"What are you doing?" I asked, frowning slightly at the strange subject change.

"Talking about the test."

"Why?"

"Because you said you didn't want to talk about Summer."

"I don't." I swallowed heavily and fiddled with the piano keys just to distract myself.

"Okay, so I moved to biology. Sorry, did you want to talk about Spanish?"

I don't know why I take things so personally, but I figured she was mocking me. She had witnessed everything and now she was just going to sit here and watch the aftermath play out.

I stared at the keys, not meeting her eyes, as I smiled scornfully, "You just loved it, didn't you?"

"Loved what?"

"Seeing me get nailed like that. Must have been a great moment." I looked up at her defiantly but flicked my gaze back to the keys. I hated that I was having trouble meeting her eyes. She was normally the one who got all uncomfortable and flustered, not me.

"Not really." Her face scrunched up briefly, as if the notion was insane.

Oh sure. Snorting derisively, I said, "Please. You loved it, she loved it, everybody loved it." The muscle in my jaw twitched for what felt like the fifth time in this conversation. I found myself staring at the piano keys again while my fingers pressed lightly down on them.

"I did not love it." Rory told me, a firm sincerity in her tone that dissolved my anger. Walking away from the front of the piano, Rory slid beside me on the piano bench.

"I really liked her too." The softness in my voice made me want to kill myself.

The thing was, that was the truth. I did like Summer quite a bit. She had been different from the other girls. Hadn't put up with my bull shit. She challenged me. Fat load of good that turned out to be.

"Yeah I know."

Pretty much desperate for a topic change, preferably something that wouldn't make me feel like a pussy, I said, "So where's your boyfriend tonight?" My eyes stubbornly stayed focused directly ahead of me, but I could feel Rory's eyes on my face.

"He's...not my boyfriend anymore." In my peripheral vision, I noticed her looking away from me, downwards to her lap.

Aw, Mary decided she was too good for the idiot of a bean stalk?

"Why not?"

"He didn't want to be," She answered simply, matter-of-factly, and looked at me again. I wished she wouldn't keep doing that. I was a mess at the moment and she was about the last person I wanted to see me like this.

I felt surprise spring up. I knew that if I looked at her, I would have recognized the uncomfortable pain reflected in her eyes that was probably in mine too. I didn't look. I couldn't.

God, what an insanely stupid _ass hole_. I always knew her boyfriend was dumb, but even I underestimated just how moronic Bag Boy really was. He had her and he just let her go. No, he _made_ her go.

"Idiot." I offered, scoffing. I shook my head, hoping this sounded genuine despite my inability to look her in the eye. Damn it, DuGrey get yourself together.

"So's Summer."

Licking my lips out of nerves that I shouldn't fucking get, I asked her, "You think you'll get back together?" I tried to sound casual but I can't exactly deny that this pathetic burst of hope lit up in me. What was it about this girl that made me feel like such a world class fool?

"He was pretty set in his decision." Something in her voice, which was not so matter-of-fact now, made me stop staring at a spot on the wall.

I turned my head to give her my full attention.

"When did it happen?"

"Yesterday."

"Wow."

"It was our three month anniversary."

Shit, that's cold. I smiled empathetically and we both agreed that it sucked.

Rory turned the question back on me, asking if I'd get back with Summer.

"No, no. No, no, no, no, no."

"So no?"

"No. Hey..." I waited for her eyes to meet mine again, as she had just been glancing around the room. "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time for a while." I may act like a baboon sometimes but I can spot an opening from across several counties and this right here was an opening.

"Oh that's ok." She looked down at her lap.

"It is?" I raised my eyebrows at how easily she swallowed that apology.

"Well no, but you're sad." She smiled wryly. There we go. I couldn't help but smile slightly too.

"Yeah well. I _am_ sorry." Honestly, I was being sincere.

"I accept your apology."

"Oh man, it's a great party huh?" I sighed, leaning my arm against the piano and staring at the way it glittered in the light. I wonder how many times Madeline's servants had to polish this thing?

"Yeah not bad. It gave me a chance to catch up on my reading." That statement wasn't phrased defensively, or self-deprecatingly, or ashamed. She had come to a house party and ended up reading and she was perfectly okay with that, seeing no reason as to why any one wouldn't do the same.

I grinned. This was why I liked this girl.

"You are very odd, you know that?" I said, amused.

"Thank you." Rory grinned, seemingly genuinely pleased at being called odd.

"You're welcome."

I met her eyes, which were torn between staring into my eyes and staring at my lips (in an adorably obvious way). I couldn't help but do the same, to be honest. She's always had such beautiful lips…

I leaned in excruciatingly slowly (at least for me) so as to give her ample warning as to what I intended to do, and to make sure she had time to scuttle away if she wanted to (I was keen on avoiding an humiliating 'get off me!' episode). To my surprise, when my eyes flicked up from gazing at her very sexy lips to meet her eyes one last time almost permissively, I didn't see the fear or disgust I expected. Rory leaned in obligingly and inclined her head, returning equal pressure to me as I crushed my lips against hers.

God, she had the softest lips I've ever tasted.

It had just sunken in my mind that this was actually happening and I was just getting really into the kiss when Rory pulled back from me. My eyes fluttered open and to my shock, I saw clear tears running down her face, her eyes trained down and away from me.

"I'm sorry, what did I do? Did I bite your lip or something?" I quickly apologized, concerned.

Rory was standing up. Oh my God, why was she standing up? The prospect of having bitten Mary in the first kiss I've finally managed to have from her put me into a mild panic.

"No it's not you. It's just - I have to go." She grabbed her purse which she had left on top of the piano and all but ran for the door.

I stared after her, bewildered, with a sinking feeling of lost opportunity and disappointment.

...That lasted about half a second.

I stood up, making the bench scrape loudly against the floor as I did so, and sprinted after her.

She was clearly spooked because she moved faster than I've yet seen her go. She had made it just out of the room, slipping in between the outer fringes of the party crowd.

Grabbing her arm before it could slip away in the mass of people, I called out to her. "Rory! Wait! Stop!"

Rory looked back at me fleetingly, a look of scared misery in her features as she tried to pull her arm back. "Let go of me, Tristan."

"No, come on, I don't understand- what just happened?"

"It was- it's- I have to go. I'm sorry!" She pulled harder.

"Tell me what's going on."

We could barely hear each other over the music and I was painfully aware of two or three pairs of eyes glancing at me again. If I had to face two public humiliations tonight, I was going to fucking transfer.

Rory hadn't yet managed to meet my eyes. I gave her arm a light tug. "Mary."

Hearing me call her that made her finally look at me, her eyes still brimming over with tears. Seeing my small victory, I pulled her again gently to lead her back to the empty room.

"I have to go." She repeated feebly, though she made no effort to pull back from me or leave.

When we reached the door, she seemed to shake out of it and again tried to push me off. "No, let me go! I got to- I can't-"

I did the only thing I could think of to make her shut up. I stopped moving forwards. Turning around suddenly I walked inches away from her.

In front of thirty-some people I kissed Rory Gilmore for the second time that night and in my life.

Just like last time, she kissed me back.


	3. Marys Don't Go For Tristans

**AN: **Thank you guys for reviewing, ilu you :) It's pretty much a rule that the time between updates decreases proportionately with the volume of reviews left ;)\

As I've mentioned before, the story will be bumped to M. This change will happen when I post the next chapter- just a heads up. Hope you like this installment.

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_**2. Marys Don't Go For Tristans**: ...But Rory Might_

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I eased Rory into the room with the piano, knowing full well she'd be mortified to have so many people watch us make out.

I shut the door behind us and locked it, my lips never leaving hers.

She yanked herself forcibly back. "_I can't_!"

"Why not?" I demanded, not waiting for an answer before I kissed her again, noting that she again pressed her lips against mine feverishly before pulling away. I could feel her tears brush against my skin as we kissed and the desperate sadness got to me.

"Dean-" She murmured, her head bowed.

"-Is a moron who let you go." I finished for her, tilting her chin up with my fingers and smoothing away her tears. "-Is not here right now. Doesn't deserve to be here or with you. Ever."

She sniffed, staring down obsessively. "He's not a moron."

"No one with half a brain would leave you."

She looked at me, surprising me with the intensity in her eyes. "It's not like you and Summer. He told me he loved me and I told him I had to think about it. That's why he broke up with me. I'm the moron. I'm the bad guy. Everyone in my town hates him but he didn't do anything wrong." She was crying harder now. "And Luke wrestled him to the ground when he tried to come into my diner this morning, and my mom wanted me to stay home tonight to wallow, and I'm not that girl. Tristan, I'm not that girl who falls apart without a boyfriend and everyone hates him for doing this to me but _I_ did this to me, he loved me and I- and this- It's all my fault and I wish everyone would stop blaming him because _I_ messed up, not him." She shut her eyes in desolation

I rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey. Come on, Mar, look at me."

She flicked her gaze back up to meet mine; the beauty of her eyes startling me. They were always a surprisingly clear shade of blue but combined with her tears and her sadness they looked more oceanic than ever before.

"It's not your fault. Who breaks up with someone because they love them? And Lord, it had only been three months. It's not horrible that you needed time to think."

Rory did not look convinced.

"You're broken up. You did nothing wrong here tonight."

"Yesterday! We've been broken up for one day and I'm kissing other boys!"

"Not other boys. Just me." I smiled.

"And Kirk's calling him a floppy haired jerk." She sniffed again.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. She glared at me.

"What? It's funny. He _is_ a floppy haired jerk."

"Didn't you hear me? He's not a jerk!"

"Oh but you agree he's floppy haired?"

"His hair's nice. It's long and it's smooth and it smells nice, not as nice as yours but it's Dean! My Dean. And he's not a jerk."

"Not as nice as mine?"

Rory curled her hands into fists. "You're amused by this. It figures you would be."

"I'm not amused by you crying. You're just… well, you're funny. I can't help it if you're inadvertently amusing. But he _is_ a jerk. I can't see how any guy could let you go regardless of what you did. And trust me; you didn't do anything this time. It may not be his fault but it's not yours either. And by letting you go, it's automatically his fault. He's the jerk."

"What's so special about me that makes you think no guy should ever leave me?" She crossed her arms angrily. "What, because I'm a 'Mary' all males should bow down and adore the one unpopped virgin in practically the whole school?"

I quirked my eyebrow at her use of the word 'unpopped' but figured she'd have my head if I commented on it.

"No, you're the one –hot- unpopped virgin in practically the whole school."

Her mouth dropped open in a shocked 'O'.

"Kidding. Though you are really hot." I held up my hands jokingly. "Rory. I can't believe you have to ask that. You're you. And since you mentioned your whole town hates Bag Boy, I'm not going to go into a list of your many good qualities since I'm sure you've had your ear talked off in that regards already. But you are pretty amazing; you know for a Mary and all."

She blinked up at me, as though confused by the compliment. I rolled my eyes. "Don't look at me like that. I'm capable of being nice when I want to be." Feeling a little uncomfortable now, I rambled trying to get her to stop looking at me like I had just promised her my left ball, "But you know, I try not to make a habit of it. I mean drinking, sleeping around…those are habits I can handle. Those are respectable habits."

"And being known as the nice guy isn't?" A smile at last.

"Nice guys finish last."

"Not always." She said softly. "So. I'm amazing?"

"Like I said, I refuse to list your good qualities."

"So list my bad ones."

"And this will help with your mood how?"

"And you want to help with my mood why?"

I smirked, "Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to charm my way into your pants, Gilmore."

Rory laughed. "Well I think you can safely list my bad qualities without decreasing the chance of that happening- you can't have negative odds."

"Hey, I got you laughing. That ought to count for something." I said. "All right. You wanna know what drives me insane? You're oblivious and stubborn and you always do what you're supposed to. You're anal about your grades and don't know how to relax. You couldn't let loose at a party like this if you wanted to."

"And I couldn't tell Dean I loved him back."

"Oh great, so we're back on that?" She was looking down again and an almost unrecognizable feeling crept in me. I didn't like seeing her sad.

"I'm sorry. I really have to go. My friend Lane was dancing with Henry and she might-"

"Henry can take care of her."

She glanced at the door and back at me. Hesitantly, she said, "Tristan… it'll get better, won't it? Relationships? Breaking up? I'll- I'll feel better soon?"

"Are you that bent out of shape about losing him or is it just that this is something unexpected, unplanned for? Are you sad that you've lost Dean or just sad that you've lost your boyfriend?"

"Is there a difference?"

"All the difference in the world, Mary."

"Why'd you kiss me?" Rory asked me abruptly, squinting up at me analytically.

"It's hardly surprising that I kissed you. I've been hitting on you since your first day at Chilton. The real question is why'd you let me?"

"I don't know." Her eyes were wide with honesty as she looked directly into mine; the brilliance of the blue pools almost overwhelming. I guess it's no secret that I pretty much love her eyes.

"The correct response here would be because I'm insanely gorgeous." I cockily told her. She opened her mouth to protest but I interrupted her. "Rory, don't. I don't want to hear that it's because of Summer. Because if it was a pity thing I'd…"

"What? If it was a pity thing you'd what?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, feeling the boiling of pain resurface. Of course it was a pity thing. In what world am I the rebound for grocery boy? Oh that's right, in her world I am. I felt humiliated again and this was not something I wore well. At all. I clenched my jaw. "I suppose I shouldn't have kept you for so long." I turned to face the door, willing myself to walk away.

"Wait. It- wasn't a pity thing. I thought that was obvious."

"Whatever. Perfect Mary should be leaving all this debauchery behind and return to her fairy tale life. I'm sure Prince Charming will take you back."

"I already told you I don't think that's happening."

"And I already told you the boy would have to be institutionalized if he doesn't."

"Because I'm amazing?"

"Because you're amazing." I confirmed.

"And if I don't want him back?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and let my head loll back. "If you don't want him back then we just wasted a shit load of time trying to cheer you up, didn't we?" My brain interrupted my exasperation with the blaring thought that it was a good thing if she didn't want him back and I should be encouraging that mindset. "But if you don't want him, you'll just be realizing what everyone else already sees. That you could do better."

"You mean like you?"

"Do you think I'm better than Bag Boy?"

"I know _you_ think you are."

"Well honestly Mary I would never have dumped you on our three month anniversary after you failed to say you loved me. Obviously, after three months you would have been head over heels." I grinned.

"I think I can actually tolerate you Tristan Dugrey." Rory smiled. "Why can't you be like this more often?"

I blame Summer and the fact that she mauled up my dignity so badly already as the rationale explaining why I just happened to take seemingly casual comments and twisted them into insults.

"You fuck me up." I said bluntly. "I don't know what it is about you, whether it's your stupid hard-headedness or your almost laughable naivety or what other amazing, crippling, unique trait of yours that you have, but you fuck me up."

"Thank you…?"

I wasn't finished. "You make me crazy. I'm not always such a chauvinistic ass hole but you bring it out in me. And that's all you see. Ever. Because you're oblivious and blind. And maybe there isn't more than that to me. But you paint everyone at Chilton with the same brush. We're all spoiled rich brats to you, all the same. And what, you're this beacon of normalcy, of purity? You're our moral superior and what you lack in money you make up for in character? What's sad is that's fairly true. You are different in character and morality and purity. And sometimes that makes me think you are better. Than me, than us, whatever."

"I don't think I'm better-"

"You're Goddamn amazing, Gilmore. And horribly flawed just like you judge us for. Exactly like you judge us for. But you're still amazing."

My voice had gone soft and gentle, which completely pissed me off- resulting in my next words coming out coated with an impatient edge that was mainly geared at myself.

"So don't go home and cry over your idiot ex-boyfriend. Don't binge on ice cream and watch sad love movies and whine about everything in your love life. He isn't worth it. I don't even know what you're worth, but it's more than what he can give. It's more than anyone can give, really, what with the standards you should have. You're horribly child-like but frustratingly adult and you're loud mouthed and soft spoken and you're so smart but _so incredibly stupid_ sometimes. You're… you're…not like your grandparents who yes I've met, you're not like anyone who goes to Chilton- not the rich ones or the other scholarship ones, you're you and it's just- I'm- I'm sick of it!" I was babbling. This was going to end well, wasn't it? "Sick of it and of you and of all your amazingness so why don't you go find your friend and go back to your perfect little town and when school starts you'll pretend we never did kiss and nothing happened because I'm Tristan and you're fucking Mary. Like I said, you couldn't let loose at a party like this if your life depended on it. You don't do spontaneous. You don't have hook-ups. And we both know Marys don't go for people like me."

Staring at me in stunned, almost touched silence, Rory suddenly leaned forward and kissed me hard on the mouth. She uncrossed her arms and gingerly touched her finger tips to my shoulders. Amused at her cautiousness, I kissed her back, increasing the intensity, and backed her into the wall. Sure enough, her hands moved, one moving tightly around my neck and the other entangling in my hair.

Acting on instinct and auto-pilot now, my fingers left her face to rest against her thigh, caressing the skin near the hemline of her dress. My brain pretty much goes AWOL anytime I'm doing anything physical so I didn't really think about the fact that this was Rory Gilmore I was with and that she probably would not appreciate my forwardness. My hand rode up the side of her leg until I felt the soft material of her underwear, to which I slipped my fingers under, brushing her hip bone.

Rory stopped moving completely as my fingers touched her. I opened my eyes to see her with a shocked look on her face as she pushed me away from her with a start. She tugged at her dress while her face turned red.

She opened her mouth to say something. An unwavering gut instinct of mine told me with dead certainty that if I let her speak now this was over. She would run away scared and nothing I could do would convince her to come back.

So I interrupted her with a light kiss, moving my hands so that they weren't even touching her.

"I'm sorry." I instantly said, feeling like an idiot. I actually hadn't meant to do that. It was just… second nature for me. What can I say, I do this a lot. "That was too far." I met her eyes in the hope that she would see I really hadn't meant to freak her out. "It won't happen again." I promised, trying to gauge if she was still going to run.

"It won't?"

I shook my head.

She leaned in close to my face and brushed my cheekbone, an action I hadn't anticipated. I involuntarily leaned closer to her and I had to press my hands against the wall behind her to stop them from touching her.

"But you want to do it again, don't you?"

Was this a trick question? I searched her eyes but couldn't read the expression. It looked like she was trying to work something out in her head.

I kept my response from being too emphatic, though God only knows how much I wanted to. "…Well…yeah, Mar. But that's not the point."

A small smile lit her face and I'm sure she was just smiling to herself; her eyes weren't even on me any more. Interpreting this as a sign to continue, I bent down to brush my lips over hers again, smiling as I felt her tongue meet mine.


	4. She's Easily Spooked

**AN: **Thank you all for the kick ass reviews, they always make me smile :) Rose, I hope this isn't moving too fast after all, and let's hope this is believable.

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_**3. She's Easily Spooked:** But He's Damn Good At What He Does_

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I really was making an effort to not shut my brain off while we made out- to keep the kiss from getting too heated- but it was she who pulled against the back of my neck to bring me closer, it was she who moved so she was as close as physically possible as she could be to me. I deepened the kiss without thinking and let my hand slide down her back and over her waist to rest lightly on her ass. Have I mentioned how nice of a figure Rory Gilmore has?

Rory jumped as if electrified, looking at my hand. I let go of her quickly and took a step back.

She looked back at me and I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, you're going to have to help me out here. I'm sorry but I don't know what things you're comfortable with." It was just her ass for God's sake; did she get offended that easily? Knowing the answer was a resounding 'yes' I kept that last part to myself.

She didn't answer so I brushed my fingers across her cheek lightly, as she had done to mine earlier. "Can I not touch you? 'Cause I'll try but honestly _you do not know_ how difficult it is to be so close to you and to _not."_

"It's difficult for you?"

"Okay now you're just fishing for compliments."

That elicited an embarrassed chuckle from her lips. "No…I'm sorry. It's just strange. All of this." She shook her head slightly, gazing at a spot over my shoulder.

Adjusting her chin so that she was looking at me and not removing my hand after the task was done, I laughed back. "What, it's strange for you to be wanted?"

Realizing she wasn't laughing with me, I added, "Come on you can't be serious. Every guy I know…" Bad analogy, DuGrey, shut your _mouth._ I cleared my throat. "Sorry. What I mean is- well, it's more than a little hard to believe that you're surprised. I mean, not to bring him up again, but Bag Boy must have-"

"It's just never been emphasized so much." Rory murmured.

"I'm sorry if that's making you uncomfortable, but I _do_ want you. Look at yourself."

She was turning red again. Brushing my hand over her waist, I chuckled again. "Is this making you uncomfortable?"

Slowly looking at me, she surprised me by shaking her head minutely. "No. It's making me…" She flushed a deeper red and evidently chose a different set of words then what she had been thinking, "It feels nice. Good."

Knowing the exact wording she had been thinking of, I suppressed the smirk from popping on my features. "And how come this time you feel _good_-" I emphasized the word with a teasing leer, "-and every other time I made a move you felt offended?"

"This time's different. You're different tonight."

"How?" I was actually confused.

"You're not trying to make me uncomfortable and we both know you enjoyed doing it before. You're being kinder…understanding even."

Rubbing circles on her hip bone with my thumb over her dress, I smiled. My other hand played with the short sleeve on her shoulder, lightly fingering it off her shoulder and on again. "So? Ground rules?"

"Do you have any?"

I stared at her.

"Okay. Stupid question. Um… I-I don't know. Dean-"

"_Forget_ about Dean." I told her again. "Be here. With me. I won't have you standing there picturing him when I'm trying to kiss you."

"I haven't been. I won't be." She cleared her throat. The force with which she said it made me think that I was clearly the better kisser. "But… I don't know what you mean by ground rules."

"What can I not do?" I didn't hide the lascivious glint that I knew had appeared in my eyes.

She swallowed. "I-I don't know, what kind of a question is that?"

Breathing in her ear, I murmured, "Let me help you then." The hand that had been caressing her hips rode over the side of her body slowly, from the hem of her dress on her thigh to just under her chest. "Is this okay with you?" She nodded weakly, unable to look away from my eyes which were staring intensely at her.

My fingers marked a path over her collar bone and down her arm, linking with her hand briefly before releasing it. "And that? Does that feel good?" Again she nodded and I felt her goose bumps over her skin. Knowing that the temperature was well controlled, I smirked again knowing what the cause was.

I ran my hand now down her back, pressing down so even through the fabric I could feel every indent and crevice in her back. "And that?"

Without waiting for the nod, I let my hand wander down to her ass for the second time that night, keeping the pressure almost non-existent as I brushed against it. Her mouth half opened in protest so I decided to push the envelope and slid my hand even further down so that I was holding her ass. Giving just the quickest and lightest of squeezes, I kissed the side of her mouth. "Does that still feel good?" She nodded but squirmed slightly so I released her.

"If you don't want me to do something, just tell me. But before you do, I have to ask you three questions."

"Tristan, I don't know if…"

"Does it feel good?"

"Yes but-"

"Do you feel pressured in any way?"

"No but-"

Moving both my hands so that they suddenly gripped both sides of her ass, I leaned in so that our noses were touching. "So what's the problem?"

I kissed her deeply and since my hands were there anyways, I scooped her up in my hands so that she was off her feet. Pulling away briefly, I asked her to wrap her legs around my waist.

"I'm wearing a dress!"

"True." I conceded and jolted her by sitting down on the floor. I pulled her into my lap, her legs together and off over my legs.

"That wasn't what I meant."

"Mmhmm." I nuzzled her neck. "Does that feel good?"

Her hands found their way back into my hair as she nodded.

I gave her small kisses leading up to her ear, which I sucked. "And that, Rory?" I was answered by a breathy sigh.

Moving my lips down to her neck again, I gently kissed, licked, and sucked the area directly over her pulse which was now so strong I could feel it throbbing heavily against my tongue. "Does this feel good?" Instead of answering, Rory shifted her position to give me better access so that she was now kneeling on me, her knees sticking out on either side of me. Which was of course rather similar to the position she had refused earlier on the grounds of her wearing a dress.

Rory's hand found the edge of my sweater. Fingering it for a moment, she dipped her hand under my shirt and stroked the bottom of my bare back.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't help it; I was shocked she was actually initiating contact.

"Doesn't it feel nice?"

I quickly nodded in assent.

"It's… you've been focusing on… and I wanted to… You can't possibly be feeling…what I'm feeling…and it's not fair to you." She explained, looking embarrassed again.

I stared at her incredulously. "Rory, we've barely done anything-"

"I know." She said quickly. "I know and it's ridiculous that I'm already so…"

Oh God, hearing how much I affected her turned me on about five more notches, and I was already on fire from just being allowed to touch her at all.

"Rory. I was going to say that we've barely done anything and I'm already _past_ aroused."

The word seemed to make her blush again. "But- how, I haven't done-"

"Just being near you gets me hard." I told her lowly, entwining my fingers in hers and guiding her hand to my growing boner.

I thought she might jump back at the touch, but she seemed amazed. Shocked, but amazed. Looking at me with those innocent blue eyes of hers, she asked in astonishment, "I affect you that much?"

"I told you I wanted you. I'm surprised you're surprised. You have no idea how much you affect me."

"Can I try something?"

"Of course."

Keeping her eyes on mine, the hand that was still beneath mine gingerly touched my hard-on again. This time, she pressed just a tiny bit harder and oh God this time she stroked me. Back and forth. Back and forth. Twice.

I couldn't help it. I shut my eyes and let out a guttural moan, my grip tightening around her hand.

When I re-opened my eyes, she was still staring at me. She had moved her hands so that she was holding my face and when she saw my eyes had re-opened, she swooped forwards and pressed her lips against mine hungrily. I returned the kiss with equal desire and gasped as her hand shifted under the front of my shirt to caress my stomach. Her other hand caressed the side of my face before hesitantly reaching down to cup me. I noticeably twitched before deepening the kiss, my fingers gliding down her face, over her collar bone, and softly down her chest, stroking the edges of her breast over her dress.

We pulled away for air and when I started kissing her again in slow deliberate movements, my hand moved to her back once more and started playing with the zipper.

"Does this feel good?" I breathed as I unzipped an inch of fabric and ran my hand under the dress to feel her back.

"God, Tristan everything feels good."

This cleared my head enough for me to pull away.

She looked at me, puzzled.

"Rory, how far exactly do you want to go tonight?" I had to ask. It could ruin the moment but I had to ask. If she was letting me unzip her, I would be removing more than just her dress. And I didn't know if she wanted that, if she was ready for that. She was my Mary, after all.

She gaped at me, unable to find words.

"Okay. I want you to understand me. If you want to stop, at any time, we'll stop. If I'm making you uncomfortable, we'll stop. Just tell me the second you think we're going too far."

She nodded.

"Do you want to stop now?" It killed me to give her the option. Why did my gentlemanly side have to come out tonight of all nights?

"Stop?" She took my hand in hers and guided me into unzipping her dress completely, though the nature of the dress meant that nothing more was exposed except the creamy porcelain of her back, which I could barely see from this angle anyways. "Do you want us to stop?"

No, I wanted to fuck you until you couldn't walk, Mary.

"Do you even have to ask me that?"

"I might be bad. I don't know what I'm doing. I might do it wrong!" She said in a rush, as though hoping if she said it quickly enough I wouldn't hear. As though I'd shove her off and leave if I did hear.

I had to grin. "Rory, I call you 'Mary'. Does it really seem like I'm expecting you to have a lot of experience?"

She let out a nervous laugh.

"You can't possibly do it wrong." I told her. "I'll show you what to do, okay?"

"I feel like an idiot." She looked down.

"Every physical experience is like this, okay? You're supposed to learn something new. We're supposed to tell each other what we want. I promise you won't end up breaking off my cock." I teased.

Again, my use of words seemed to make her twitch a little. Grinning, I added, "And I can guarantee your cu-"

"Tristan!"

I laughed, running my hand down her now bare back. "Trust me, babe."

My hands rode up her back to her shoulders and I pushed back the sleeves, causing the whole front to wilt forward. I deftly caught the material before it could even do so much as reveal her bra and looked at her again. Nothing in her eyes told me to stop so I let the dress go and bent forwards to kiss the areas of her breasts in which her bra didn't cover. Running my hands over her bra straps, I flicked them off her shoulders before moving back to her breasts, cupping one with my hand and easily slipping my thumb under the bra's material to caress the skin underneath.

I was going to ask if this was still okay when she reached behind herself and undid her bra, slipping her arms out of the straps and arching back to give me full access.

She was topless. Completely topless. I was looking at the silky perfection that were her breasts. My fingers slid around her and kneaded her bare breast, flicking her nipple softly before my lips descended on her other side and took to running my tongue over the skin surrounding the hardened peak.

Slipping my hands down to either side of her thighs, my hands inched upwards over the hem of the dress, pushing it up as I stroked her panty-covered ass. She lifted her arms up obligingly as I removed the dress completely.


	5. Home Base

**AN: **I'm awful for taking so long to update and I really do sincerely apologize. Silly readers, of course I wasn't going to abandon this fic- especially at that point :P. But let's not waste time reading my preamble; on with the story! & don't forget to drop me a line or five when you're done ;)_**

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_**4. Home Base:** Sex & The Always Fun 'Where Do We Stand Now?' Talk_

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I woke up in the middle of the night, flopped over, and smirked as I realized there was a body lying beside me. The smirk quickly was replaced with a startled, almost dazed smile as I recalled near instantly that this wasn't just a random chick I had scored- it was Rory Gilmore. 

God, last night was fantastic.

I couldn't believe she actually had sex with me.

xXx

_She lifted her arms up obligingly as I removed the dress completely..._

A small, very subdued voice inside me that represented what little of my conscience I hadn't managed to shut up muttered to me that this was bad. She was Rory Gilmore. She had just broken up with her boyfriend. She was not ready for this.

She was also wearing scarcely anything but her underwear (which again with the oddness- they were orange with blue ducks on them).

"Nice underwear." I smirked.

The brunette looked down and quickly shut her eyes in mortification.

Glancing at them again, I laughed, "No, they're very you. I like them."

I shouldn't have said anything. She was still blushing furiously and looking more uncomfortable by the second.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "You look tense."

She wasn't going to tell me. Swallowing, she shook her head dismissively and crossed her arms.

I took both of her wrists and uncrossed her arms, placing them under my sweater. "I realize it's not very fair for me to still be fully clothed." I explained with a small smile.

The apprehension in her eyes as she slowly lifted my shirt up made me wonder if she was worried she'd end up suffocating me in the process of removing my shirt or if she was just nervous to see how very sculpted I was.

Deciding that she could manage this herself, I did nothing to help in the process except raise my arms over my head. She pushed the shirt off of me and scanned her eyes over my upper body, her eyes resting appreciatively over my stomach in an almost stunned fashion. Much as I would like to say she was stunned at my God-like body, I think it had more to do with the fact that, hey, maybe she was more of a Mary than I had ever thought and this shirtless thing was in itself new to her.

"Like what you see?" I murmured as I leaned over her, shifting my position so that she was on the ground now and not on me. I bent over her form like a soft shadow.

"You have a… nice… necklace." She gulped, fingering said necklace shakily. I smiled, suspecting that she had yet again changed what she was going to say.

"Yours too." I nudged her necklace with my nose. I then began running down her body, flicking my tongue out to lick the path, stopping at her underwear. I heard her breathing hitch in anticipation of what she thought I was going to do. Instead of doing it, I moved back up her body, kissing her lips.

Once she got lost in the kiss, I moved my hand back down to gently rest against her cunt, causing her to squeak softly.

I removed my mouth from hers, moving it to suck on her earlobe again since she seemed to go for that. I didn't move my hand until I was looking at her again; wanting to see her expression as I did everything I wanted to do.

I rubbed her slowly at first, applying pressure alternately between fingers and then speeding up with my hand using as much force as I dared. My other hand returned to kneading her breast and I enjoyed the obvious affect. She started breathing faster, her chest rising and falling heavily, and my fingers felt the dampness seep through the fabric.

"And this, Rory. Does this feel nice?" My lips were almost touching hers as I spoke. "Is this okay?"

"Tristan," She whispered with her eyes shut, "I think it's gotten to the point where you can stop asking me that."

"Do you want me touch you properly?" I slipped the edge of my thumb under her underwear, pressing lightly before I let it rejoin my other fingers in the rubbing.

Rory nodded so I slipped in my whole hand under her panties, almost exploding with lust myself when I realized I was finally holding her centre. She was dripping wet and it was _for me_. I allowed my index finger to rub a circle around her clit, hearing her gasp of pleasure, and then I smoothly removed my hand from her.

The loss of contact made her open her eyes. "Tristan, what are you doing?"

"Do you want me to go on?" She was so, so much fun to tease.

"That's kind of obvious, isn't it?"

"Take off your underwear for me then, Rory."

"Okay." She complied in seconds and resumed her former position of having her hands gripped around my neck, closing her eyes again.

She didn't shave, I noticed. Usually I preferred it shaven, but somehow this endeared her to me more.

Smiling at her enthusiasm, I obliged her and continued stroking, slowly easing a finger into her. Her hand gripped my hair and she let out an indistinguishable noise. Smiling wider, I took my finger out, continued stroking, and then abruptly stuck two fingers all the way in. This time, she yelped and her eyes flew open.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. I wondered if Rory masturbated? Or did Bag Boy not yet manage to get this far? How he could expect her to love him back when he hadn't even finger banged her, I do not know. But the idea that she was letting me do this to her after supposedly hating me for ages when she hadn't even let her boyfriend of three months touch her caused the smirk on my face to widen.

Seeing the image of her turn scarlet upon being questioned about her self-pleasuring habits, I kept the thought to myself and started rhythmically removing and re-entering my fingers into her opening while my other hand persisted with rubbing her labia and clit. This was having a very interesting affect on Rory as she was releasing an almost continuous string of moans and clumsily bucking towards me in a cute attempt to feel more of me.

Time to change the moans into screams. "Rory, you're going to have to let go of my neck."

"Are you stopping? Don't stop…" She looked up, alarmed.

Chuckling, I assured her that she would like what I was going to do next.

Descending forward, I kissed her cunt close-lipped before allowing my tongue out between my lips and into her other ones. I fell back on the standard; I traced the alphabet, letting my tongue enter her sporadically.

"Oh my God…" I heard her breathe.

Smirking, I rested my hands on both her upper thighs, letting one hand inch up. I slipped in two fingers, bending them inside her just as I traced a 'W' along the folds of her skin.

Rory screamed out my name.

She started trembling; her normally clear blue eyes went cloudy, thick with pleasure.

Can I just say I love hooking up with the inexperienced? Everything seems so amazing the first time you feel it, in effect making the one administering it feel like a Sex God. Of course, even those who haven't been virgins since they were in middle school have called me the best.

Some people are good at math, some people can sing… I can give really kick ass orgasms. Needless to say, I think my talent is by far the best.

And hey, if people scorn me for thinking myself God's gift to women, it's only because I am a God in giving out God's true gift to women.

I continued pumping my fingers into her, my tongue moving on to other patterns, until her shaking slowed and her eyes unclouded.

I sat back up, resting my hands on her waist, as she focused her eyes back onto mine. "Was that- did I just have my first-" Her breathing hitched, "…orgasm?"

This was the first time she said a word aloud that was related to anything sexual. I smiled and inclined my head.

"How was it? How do you feel?" Yes, I am an egotistical ass who wants validation of my prowess despite knowing full well how she was feeling.

"That was… thank you."

I don't remember the last time I was thanked for that, and it surprised me. Chuckling slightly, I said, "Believe me, it was my pleasure."

She pulled me to her and kissed me intensely.

"Should I… I mean it's… your turn."

I stared at the girl, feeling staggered. "You- you don't mean you actually want to-?"

"Well, yeah." Rory blushed.

"Seriously?" Mary wanted to blow me? Did I knock my head on something and end up in a deliriously amazing comatose fantasy?

She nodded, looking confused at my amazement. "Why are you gaping at me like that?"

"I'm sorry but _you_ want to give me a blow job?"

"Well, we should probably start with a hand job but yes! I may not be very good at it, but it's only fair."

I can't articulate how very much I wanted to let her do it.

_But I couldn't._

Somehow, the idea of letting her give me oral seemed like I would really be _tainting_ her. She could tell me she was ready til she was blue in the face but the fact remained that she had just broken up and she wasn't experienced at all.

"Rory, no."

"No?" She looked hurt.

"It's not that I don't want you to, believe me." I chuckled.

Bending over her again, I kissed her deeply.

"Do you want to go further?"

"You wouldn't let me-"

"No, Mar, _do you want me to go further_," I stared at her intensely, looking for the smallest sign of hesitance. My hand fell back to stroking her almost absently as I waited for her to understand. Yes, in my mind, I wouldn't taint her by fucking her but I would by letting her give me a blow job. It's logical to me- for every other thing we've done tonight, she's been willing of course but for the most part all she had to do was lie there. I didn't think she was ready to actively do something as forward as a blow.

"Yes." She whispered with her eyes closed. After a moment, she reopened them and cautiously started removing my belt. My breathing hitched sharply as her hands deftly took off my pants, her soft skin touching my bare legs as she did so.

"Are you ready for this? Are you sure?" This was the last bit of decency I had left.

"Tristan, for God's sake stop asking, just do it." She told me, her voice full of anticipation.

My conscience was silent now as was every other thought in my head. I blindly reached for a spare condom I always kept with me, slipped it on, and thrust into Rory's still-wet centre.

I had intended to go slow and ease her into the feeling, but my horniness resulted in a rather rough penetration. It felt fucking good- I had almost forgotten how incredibly, brilliantly, amazingly _tight_ virgins were.

I pulled out, hoping I hadn't hurt her too much. She had her eyes shut and she was biting her lip so hard it bled.

"Are you okay?" I asked, slightly worried

"Didn't hurt as much as I thought it would." She answered, opening her eyes.

"Good." I forced myself to be considerate. "Are you okay to go again?"

Rory nodded. I don't think I've ever seen a person nod as often as she had but I was glad for it.

I kissed her deeply and entered her again. She made me so hot that I was already about to explode. Knowing that she couldn't possibly be near her own edge, I tried to make it good for her.

I took her hand in my mind and guided it downwards, effectively helping her masturbate. "This'll make it better for you," I promised as I kissed her neck, holding her securely as I pierced into her for the third time.

"Oh holy fuck…" I exhaled, burying my face in the nook of her neck. "Rory, God…"

"Can you do something for me, Tristan?" she asked breathily, whimpering slightly at my bucking movements.

I placed my hands at her hips and guided her in rhythmically thrusting in sync with me. "Anything, anything." I said raggedly, my eyes now shut as I neared my orgasm.

"Scream my name?" Her voice was hesitant as always, shy and unsure.

"Rory, I was in all likelihood gonna do that regardless," I grunted.

"Not my name-name, not Rory…" I pried my eyes open to look at her. "My _name._ I mean, well, _your _name for me."

Smiling in amused understanding, I was once again surprised by the girl. Who would've thought?

As I neared my peak, I bucked particularly hard into her, causing her finger nails to sink into my shoulders. She kissed my chest softly and gasped out a sharp, "_Tristannn."_

Hearing her innocent voice cry out my name like that, like she was drowning in desire and need and _pleasure_, gave me the final push down into the oceans of explosive orgasmic delirium.

My forearms fell to lean on the floor to support myself as I slumped forwards, my head falling back in ecstasy; words slipping from my lips uncontrollably in a choked howl, "_Fuck yes… _Mary… Mary… _MARY_!"

I was shaking and panting and lost in pleasure as I moaned out her name (both of them) almost religiously in softly decreasing volume.

Once the seconds that felt blissfully like years faded and my vision cleared, I stared at the girl under me who was blinking up at me in open amazement and delight. She clearly enjoyed hearing her name cried out just as much as I did.

Realizing she hadn't climaxed yet I bent to capture her breasts in between my open lips as my hands fell over hers to rub against her cunt methodically.

Recognizing that Rory wouldn't see to do this herself, I said, "Rub against me with your whole body."

And I kissed, caressed, dug into and penetrated every inch of her I could touch; in moments she was holding onto me for dear life as she screamed my name again and again, her body breaking out in sweat and trembles.

I kissed her gently for a few minutes and stroked her body soothingly to give her time to recuperate. I could see the exhaustion in her eyes and didn't want to rush her.

Once her breathing had finally returned to normal, I gave her one last deep kiss before flopping over beside her. She reached for my hand and snuggled beside me, resting her head on my shoulder.

We looked at each other for a few minutes before she finally spoke, as matter-of-fact and innocent as always, "Madeline is going to _kill_ us for doing this in here."

I was still laughing when I helped her back into her dress.

Yeah, this was why I liked this girl so damn much.

xXx

An hour later, I plopped onto my bed wearily after throwing off everything but my boxers. "Could you turn the lights off please?"

After we had put our clothes back on, it dawned on Rory that time actually does continue to pass normally for the rest of the world when you have sex and she completely freaked out. Something about her mother and midnight and Lane. Anyways, I followed as she streaked through the house, stopping as she found with clear relief an Asian girl in deep conversation with Henry what's-his-name . After making arrangements with the other girl, Rory ran out again to call her mother to tell her that she was really sorry but lost track of time and she'd really rather just stay at Madeline's until morning since she didn't like driving at night.

After much deliberation, Rory consented to go back to my place to sleep, since the idea of staying at Madeline's was rather frightening to her (mostly just drunks and those hooking up were staying overnight) and she wasn't lying when she said driving so late scared her. She rambled about how her mother could have picked her up but she didn't want her to, something about how she needed time to seem 'normal' or her mother would automatically just know that she had done stuff that night.

"I think I'll just sleep on the couch outside-" Rory muttered from somewhere in front of me.

"Are you serious?" I cracked open an eye to peer at the brunette, who was hovering by my bedroom door anxiously. "We just-" I resisted the urge to say 'fucked' as somehow I think she'd be offended by the term, even if it was correct, "-slept together and now you're too shy to lie in the same bed as me?"

She crossed her arms self-consciously.

"Come on, Rory. Just get in." I murmured sleepily, already closing my eyes again.

"I really would be more comfortable just sleeping somewhere else!"

"Why?" I sighed.

"Because I don't want you to wake up in the morning, see me there, smirk as you realize it wasn't a wet dream, and then proceed to say something suitable to the morning after a one night stand; demeaning everything that happened and making me want to shrivel up and die every time for the rest of my life that I think about the night I lost my virginity!" Rory exclaimed huffily.

Not bothering to open my eyes or to move at all, I said, "Well, since there's no chance of that happening, why don't you get in and sleep?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"B-but, you've had me. You're done- you don't want to date me…"

"Mary I've wanted to date you for a long time, if you'd rather sleep in a guest room there's one two doors to the left of here but I think you're being ridiculous. Get in, I won't treat you like a random slut in the morning, we'll have the 'where do we stand now?' talk in the morning, 'kay?"

I carelessly pulled back the covers to make space for the girl, smiling when I felt the slight dip of the bed as Rory's small frame lied down beside me.

xXx 5

A feeling of euphoria filtered into every inch of my being when I woke up and slowly remembered every detail of the previous night. Half thinking it was a dream after all, I looked beside me. Sure enough, Rory was still sleeping beside me, her dress and socks still on and her body tilted towards me. She must have shifted during the night since I clearly remembered her carefully positioning herself away from me when she slipped in last night.

Waking up beside her after a night of fucking was certainly something I'd love to get used to. I shook my head as I watched her sleep, knowing that I never would get used to it even if by some stroke of luck we did do this continually.

When she woke up, I did my damn best to make sure the horrible morning after awkwardness wouldn't exist. I seemed to succeed and as we both sat in my vast kitchen, waiting for my cook to whip up breakfast, we talked and somehow tentatively decided that this wasn't a random hook-up.

Sipping her coffee appreciatively, Rory said in a would-be casual voice, "So… we're quasi-dating now, right?" Her casualness may have fooled me if not for the fact that she was staring at me with ill disguised anxiety, watching my reaction carefully.

I smiled slightly and before I could say anything, she panicked and started rambling again, which I happily watched in amusement as I drank from my own mug of coffee.

"I mean, I know you probably… no, I know you _definitely_ don't date every girl you've done- that- with" I almost choked on my coffee as I snickered at her inability even now to say 'had sex' or 'fucked' or any other term. 'That', honestly…

"But you said last night that you wouldn't treat me like a random slut in the morning and I was thinking that maybe that meant it wasn't totally meaningless- I mean, I didn't think it was meaningless… But the thing is, I really don't want to find last night a mistake, I really, really don't, and I don't want you dating me just because you would feel bad for ditching me after taking my virginity-"she stumbled over the word, staring determinedly at the cup in her hands, "But this isn't even me wanting to inject substance into this so I won't feel bad that my first time was a hook-up at a party… I mean, I do want to do that, obviously, but the thing is, I realized last night that I do really kind of maybe like you."

She was breathing quickly and trying not to look at me once her rant winded down but my lack of comment made her finally meet my eyes searchingly. "Tristan. Say something. 'Wow Mary I don't know what to say, I was just being polite before but you're a really bad lay please get out of my house' or 'We'll need to have another round before I can commit to anything' or something, come on!"

I laughed loudly and almost spilled coffee over the polished oak table. Once the laughter subsided, Rory was still staring at me. I rolled my eyes, "Okay, Rory."

When I didn't say anything more, Rory glared. "Okay? Okay? What the heck am I supposed to take from that?"

I smiled at her and nodded politely at the servant who had just deposited our breakfast in front of us.

As I dug into the bacon, I half-shrugged at the girl and said with my mouth partially full, "Yeah, okay we're dating."

Rory grinned for a moment before her glare returned full-force. "_That_ sounds enthusiastic. I don't want to be a pity date-"

"Shut up and eat," I chuckled. "We'll talk about promise rings and letterman jackets later but I'm telling you now that this isn't a pity thing. Screwing you wasn't the only thing I wanted to do with you."

Looking slightly mollified, the girl accepted my proffered fork and started on the eggs.

xXx

Rory called her mother after breakfast. I half wondered if she was eating for ten- she shoveled away almost as much as I did, which few girls I know can claim.

"Hey Mom." I watched her phone conversation interestedly; Rory's expressions were animated and pleasant, unlike most conversations between teenagers with their mothers. "Oh my God, really? No, I'm so happy for you!"

I had one of the hired help refill her coffee and then moved so that I was sitting beside her.

"I'm fine. I mean it. Last night was fun, actually."

Grinning to myself, I reached out languidly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. I let my fingers brush against her cheek as I did so, my smile broadening as she closed her eyes in reaction to my movement.

"I still don't want to wallow, mom."

Deciding to push the envelope, I leaned in and nuzzled her ear.

Rory exhaled sharply, gave me a warning look, and shifted slightly away from me. "Sorry, no, I stubbed my toe. Mmhmm. I'll start driving home in a few minutes. Oh, no don't do that… Tr-" She halted suddenly and cleared her throat. "Sorry, I walked in on some people in a room. So um yes don't do that, M-Madeline had food and coffee out for us. Okay. See you soon. Love you too."

She closed her phone and looked at me reproachfully. "Could you have been any less useful?"

"Yes. I could have started trying to undress you," I smirked. "So, you're going soon?"

"Yeah… she'll be expecting me."

"Well, I live a good twenty minutes away from Madeline, and it's in the right direction too- meaning you have at least another twenty minutes to spend here." Rory looked slightly alarmed so I couldn't help but add in, "Unless of course you want your mom to ask you awkward questions about how you got home so quickly."

The girl didn't look too pleased so I rolled my eyes, promised that I wouldn't make her clean my house or anything, and jibed, "What, you can date me but you can't spend any time with me? That makes sense."

"It's not that. I never lie to my mom. I hate sneaking around like this."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"Eventually, of course."

That surprised me. "Wow. So you guys are close."

She nodded. Up til this point she had been looking intently into her coffee cup, but now she met my eyes. "So, we're dating."

"I believe you ranted at me about that topic already this morning. Yes, Gilmore, we are dating."

"Quasi-dating."

"Whatever."

"So, is this rational? I mean, we did things, but does that mean we should date?"

"I want to. And after your 'episode' earlier, I thought you did too?"

"It's just weird. I mean, I didn't even remember that I had just broken up with Dean until my mom asked me about it. And that's just so strange since that's almost all I could think about yesterday."

"If it makes you feel less weird, I haven't thought of Summer at all."

"I can't believe last night happened." Rory groaned into her hands, which she had used to cover her face.

"God, is it going to be the elephant in the room now? Like every time we're in the same room together, you'll be thinking 'oh god, oh god I had sex with him, what can I do to justify that?' Is that how it's going to be?"

"Tristan, don't get offended-"

"Too late." I snapped. "What, are you all ashamed now because I _tainted_ you?"

"I'm not ashamed…but I have a right to be embarrassed! Tristan, I slept with you after hating you for the better part of knowing you. I slept with you right after I broke up with my FIRST boyfriend EVER! I don't think you get to be offended when I'm the one who feels like a-a slut."

"Why do you feel that way?"

"I just listed the reasons! I don't know you very well. I just got out of a relationship. And… I… well, I don't love you."

I physically could not stop myself from giving in to the eye rolling compulsion. "I know you're the chastity queen and all, but can't you accept that it's okay to have some fun once in a while? It's not like you were drunk and I took advantage of you. It's not like you were cheating on someone." I was getting frustrated. "Did you wake up this morning and completely regret everything? Because you know what, I sure as hell didn't and I'm getting annoyed now."

"Last night was…great." Rory stammered. "But it wasn't me."

"Because it wasn't pre-planned, thought out, or over-analyzed? Because you were spontaneous for once?" I faced her, ready to snap again, but she was looking pretty down. Against my will, I softened slightly. Instead of snapping, I leaned in and kissed her briefly. "I don't want this to be one big mistake for you, Rory. I _do_ like you."

"I like you too." She said.

"That's not love, but hey that's not grounds for feeling like a slut either."

Nodding a little, Rory managed a small smile. "Sorry for freaking out."

"That's okay."

Her smile grew and she kissed me again. "And no, I didn't wake up regretting everything. I woke up smiling."

"Me too."

An idea popped into my head and I grinned. "You know how you wanted to go down on me last night?"

"Yes." She cleared her throat.

"Was that a one-time offer?"

She whacked my arm. "You are pathetic, you get that don't you?"

I laughed. "Look, I don't want you thinking that's all I want to date you for, but I was just thinking that as long as we are dating, why not?" I sobered up to add in, "Unless you don't want to, of course. The no-pressure thing is still there."

"I'm not going to give you a… I'm not going to do that over breakfast ten minutes after we agree we're sort of dating!" She scolded me. Her expression evened out as she smiled mischievously, "…But we'll see how things go."

I let out a shocked laugh.

Her grin still present, she leaned in and pressed her lips against mine affectionately. I grinned back and wrapped my arms around her small frame as I returned the kiss.

"Now, I better get going."

"See you soon?"

"How about tomorrow?"

I stared at her, surprised. "Really?"

"Why not? If you're a really good boy maybe I'll consider your request."

I choked on my own spit. "Really?" I repeated incredulously. I had thought that 'we'll see how things go' meant 'sure, maybe in ten months', not 'today's too soon but maybe tomorrow'.

"No!" She laughed at my expression, which in all likelihood was tinged with hope. She watched my face dissolve into disappointment, and amended, "Well, _maybe."_ A look of realization popped onto her features and she said, "I'm different with you than I was with Dean."

"I don't doubt that."

"I like it. Sort of. Okay, so I'm more scared of it than liking it, but that's okay." Rory said, slipping into her coat.

I walked her to my door, enjoying the fact that she wasn't making me move my hand which I had placed on her back.

"And last night was fun. I- what I'm saying is, maybe I wouldn't be completely ruling out a repeat. Maybe. Sometime. Possibly."

"Did you like how I touched you?" I breathed in her ear, smirking.

"More than I'd like to admit." Rory muttered. "But I really have to go now. I'll call you tonight?" She shut her eyes and re-opened them. "Darn. What's your number?"

I put it into her cell phone before cheekily giving her a kiss goodbye. I don't think I'll tire of the fact that I can kiss her without getting slapped now.

I felt her hand move under the hoodie I had thrown on that morning and ride up my lower back for a moment before she withdrew it at the same time she pulled back from the kiss.

Her eyes clearly said she enjoyed being able to do things like that. "See you soon."

I smiled and watched her walk to her car. **Damn...** I was glad I went to that party.


	6. Try Hards & Teases

**AN: **So I basically wrote, and wrote, and wrote some more. This is **4 times **the length of my regular chapters but I really didn't want to split the first date up into several chaps, so here you have it- an incredibly extended chapter. I have very, very mixed feelings about this update but meh. Thanks all for the input, and I'm sorry Kriti but I can't tone down Tristan- I _adore_ him.

ETA: thank you, anonymous. I do actually care about stuff like that, it's fixed :) Can't have those movie buffs messing up on that, can we?

* * *

_**5. Try-Hards & Teases: **The (Quasi) Dating Begins_

* * *

I stared out at the slightly overcast skies from my position in the doorway between the entrance hall and the front steps. Run? Go back to sleep. Run! Check e-mail? Run… Go back to sleep. Yes, go back to sleep. 

I smiled slightly at the ridiculousness of my plight and threw the door shut as I headed for the stairs. Ugh, stairs. Changing direction, I veered towards a guest bedroom I had pretty much established as my second bedroom.

As awing as my physique is, I was actually surprisingly lazy. At least I was first thing in the morning, on weekends, and any time no one was watching. Yeah, I'm a preening peacock when it comes to crowds, so what?

My cell phone was lying on top of the sitting room table. Mmm, I probably dropped it somewhere randomly when I stumbled home the night before last. I didn't use the phone obsessively, so I hadn't noticed its absence yesterday. Flipping it open, I instantly rolled my eyes. Nineteen missed calls. Twenty-seven new text messages. Fourteen new voice mails. Chiltonite gossipers can screw themselves. I turned it off and tossed it on a bedside table before flopping into bed.

I really should have chosen to go on my sort-of daily two mile run.

xXx

I woke up at three- a good six hours later. It had been a day and a half since Madeline's party, not that yesterday really counted as a day. My parents had forced me to go to another function for another upper-tier classmate who was so pathetic their parents had to bribe friends. It's amazing how I'll still have to keep up appearances under their stupid name when they aren't even in the damn city.

Rolling onto my back, I blinked dazedly at the ceiling for a moment before realizing with pleasure that it was "tomorrow". Rory had wanted to hang out today.

This memory evoked a frown. It was already three; I'd have thought she'd have called already, knowing her. I would have heard my phone if she had. Odd.

Remembering too that I didn't have her number, I brushed off the thought and got up. If she wanted to flake off on me, whatever. It's not as if Summer hadn't done that a dozen times. The day was young and I wasn't going to be one of those suckers who waited all day for a phone call. It'd be her loss if she didn't call.

Did that sound defensive? Damn it, that girl already has me caring about things more than usual.

After showering, getting dressed, calling up a friend to chill with, spending a beautifully wasted day swimming at the club and competing for who could be ogled at the most, I went home.

I had put my phone in my jeans pocket and largely forgotten about it. Now that I was at home again though, I had to admit I was more than a little annoyed she hadn't called yet.

God, watch as she changed her mind completely over the course of a day and had now denounced herself as the sluttiest slut of sluttown and blamed me for corrupting her.

No, even better- watch as she talked to bag boy and they made up!

Oh, she's probably with him, right now. Holding his hand in all their boring vanilla glory. That stupid dumb ass is probably never going to know where that hand has been.

I glared at my phone and even though I knew that I would have heard if someone called, I flipped it open anyways to check.

I'm a fucking idiot.

Wincing rather heavily, I turned my phone back on. Jack ass, you shut it off before going to sleep again.

Seeing the notices of further missed calls, I checked the caller I.D.

Sure enough, only one unstored number had called me more than once.

In fact, it looked like she had called me five times.

Feeling increasingly moronic by the second, I dialed her number.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's, uh, Tristan."

"Oh, have you deigned to notice me now that you've finished your GIANT ORGY?" Her voice was dripping with familiar sarcasm and I grinned.

"Mar, I'm sorry. I didn't have your number and I was a dumb ass; I forgot I turned my phone off." I could almost see her glare. My grin broadened. "I'm being serious. I was actually getting pretty pissed that you hadn't called…until I realized it was my fault."

"You're an idiot."

"I know." I chuckled. "Look, really, I'm sorry. I honestly had been looking forward to spending the day with you. Quasi-dating and all."

"We can just do it tomorrow, I guess. It's not that big of a deal."

"What? Come on. It's only…" Oops. "-Nine."

"Only? I live in a different town than you." She laughed. "Maybe in Tristan-land, that doesn't register as being a problem, but it's getting late."

"We can still have fun. There's still time."

Her voice suddenly turned uncomfortable. "Tristan… I-I don't regret what happened between us, but I don't think I'm ready to… um…" She cleared her throat.

I was very amused. "I wasn't thinking about that kind of fun. What kind of sex-crazed animal do you think I am? Listen, I can meet you at the place we did the Romeo and Juliet rehearsals in one hour, if you're game."

"I don't know…"

"Hey, if I'm fresh, I'll let you slap me."

"Ha ha."

"One hour. I need to show you how amazing night can be. It sounds like you don't go outside at night and that's just a damn shame."

"I'll have to sneak out, you realize."

"So…?" At her silence, I broke out in astounded laughter. "You've never snuck out before?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"This really will be educational for you, then."

"Ugh. Fine. One hour. But if anyone catches us, I'm telling them all you kidnapped me."

"Bring mace if you want to, honey." I rolled my eyes. "See you in a bit."

xXx

Fifty-eight minutes later, I turned off the engine to my 4x4 and got out. I had briefly toyed with the idea of showing up in the motorcycle my parents absolutely didn't know I had (and for which I have no legal license to actually drive, but shhh). Ultimately, I decided that as far as risky behaviour went, Rory had gone impressively far and I shouldn't spring too much on her too quickly.

I had just started to lean back against the door when a soft 'hey' startled me enough to make me bang my elbow against the side mirror.

Choking back an expletive, I searched the dark for the source of the sound and sure enough Rory was sitting on the curb close by.

"Should have expected you'd be early," I joked. "So, how'd you get out of the house?"

"We got lucky. My mom called me a little after you did telling me she'd be gone for the night." She answered as she stood up.

"Perfect." I grinned. Nodding at the car I said, "Come on."

I took her to a late showing of some random movie. Lame, I know. I was mildly paranoid she'd think I was an absolute idiot for resorting to a movie so I kept glancing at her from the corner of my eye, watching for any sign of boredom or dissatisfaction.

Because I'm lucky like that when it comes to this girl, she caught me looking. I expected a creeped out frown but instead she smiled slightly and nudged my shoulder with hers affectionately before looking back at the screen.

After we had buckled back into the car and I started the ignition, Rory asked where we'd be going for real.

I must have looked a little puzzled because she elaborated. "I just mean… well, you said I had to see what night was like. Come on, you're you. As if you'd actually call a movie a date. I was surprised you hadn't brought a parade with you, with your reputation of over doing things."

This is where my suave skills of preparation were made known. "Uh, actually… I have no idea."

"What?"

Chuckling nervously and ignoring the uneasy thought that she'd hop out of the car and go back home, I said, "You're right. I don't consider a movie a proper date. The thing is, I had no clue what to do. Believe me; I searched my brain on the way over here. Well, you see, I did have a plan. I was going to take you to this carnival thing, but well then I was an idiot and wasn't able to contact you for ages and it's closed now. I mean, we could sneak in, of course."

Rory looked at me for a few seconds. "Okay."

At the bewilderment that was probably obviously written across my face (people, I was joking- Rory, sneaking into anywhere?), she said, "You always do say I'm too goody-goody…"

"You're kidding." This wasn't Rory behaviour.

"You said you wanted to show me how amazing night could really be. I don't think the inside of a movie theatre counts." She smiled playfully.

"You realize that what you're suggesting is illegal, right?"

"Since when did you have a problem with that?"

"Never, but silly me, I thought _you _did." I stared at her half-amused, half-flabbergasted. "Jesus, I was trying to tone myself down so you wouldn't wig out and change your mind about the whole me thing and you're the one wanting to sneak into a deserted fair ground?"

"I don't want you to tone yourself down…"

"What?"

The Rory I knew of old resurfaced. She ducked her head with her characteristic shyness and murmured, "Well, I like you Tristan." Looking up again, determined to steer away from that topic she continued with a grin, "Did you really think I'd say yes to going out with you at 10pm expecting a nice old movie and a kiss on the cheek? I'm going out with you because I know how crazy you are…and I like that. I like you."

"I really was trying to do what you wanted here."

"That's sweet of you, really it is, but maybe what I want would surprise you."

"It already has."

xXx

As we drove, the girl asked why I hadn't just told her that I didn't know what we were going to do.

Surprised she had to ask, I said, "Well I couldn't very well tell you 'yeah Rory, meet me in the dark of night for a date but oh yeah we're probably just gonna end up doing nothing'."

"Why not?"

"'Cause you wouldn't have come?"

"Why wouldn't I have?"

I stared at her incredulously. "We'd just be hanging out. That doesn't constitute as a date. You wouldn't have snuck out for something as stupid as that."

"Hanging out is fine, Tristan." Rory rolled her eyes. "I mean, I wanted to see you. It didn't really matter what we did."

Damn, she truly was different from any other girl I had ever been with.

I tried not to think too much as we drove through the city a couple dozen kilometers away from Stars Hollow on our way to the carnival. If I thought too much either I'd get cocky and therefore moronic about the whole finally landing Mary thing or I'd be in awe, which is so much worse. I hated that she had this effect on me and I tried to remember that she was just a walking pair of boobs and an untouched pussy to me not so very long ago.

Her streak of rebellion was kind of scaring me, actually. I was used to the conservative side of her and even after having sex with her seeing her loosen up was still really weird. Which is why I was sort of relieved when she spoke up all hesitantly as we pulled up into the parking lot of the grounds.

"Are we here already?"

"…yeah?"

Closing her eyes briefly after glancing at the large iron gates and the dark emptiness that surrounded us, she swallowed. "I don't… I didn't think… Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Shaking her head, she said with more conviction this time- "No, no this definitely wasn't a good idea." Muttering to herself now, she whispered, "God, get a grip."

"Are you okay?"

Looking at me with a rather pained expression, she apologized. "I'm sorry. I was the one who said we should do this. I don't mean to be so- so- ugh…but I, this is trespassing and I don't know what I was thinking, or what I was trying to prove to you; I shouldn't even have come tonight."

She looked so _upset_.

"Hey, don't be so serious. We're not robbing a bank or committing a murder. Let's just get out of the car, see how you feel when we're in front of the entrance, okay?"

"We're gonna get caught…"

"This isn't a very big carnival. They're not going to have cops patrolling the area." Slipping out of the car, I strolled over to her side of the car and opened the door. "Trust me, there won't be anyone here. And if there is anyone, I promise to tell them I kidnapped you."

She laughed and with one last uncertain glance around she jumped out of the car.

As we walked towards the gate, I couldn't help but comment. "God, I feel like I'm corrupting you or something."

"I wish you didn't." Rory answered without looking at me. "I feel inexperienced and geeky enough as it is."

"What I don't get is how you seemed so eager to do this earlier- why did you act all confident to do this if you were actually this unsure?"

"At the party, you said I was laughably naïve, incredibly child-like; that I always did what I was supposed to and I couldn't just let loose." She was still determinedly looking directly ahead of her. "I wanted to prove to you that I'm not some goody-two-shoes square like you obviously think I am… but you were right. I am like that."

"Rory, for God's sake _you told me to list your bad qualities_. If all that crap actually made me dislike you, do you really think I'd be here right now? All that stuff you've been trying to prove you're not…that's the stuff that made me like you to begin with. You don't have to do stupid shit to prove you're bad ass. I know you're not. And that's not a bad thing."

"We suck, you know that?" She chuckled. "Both of us tried to be different people."

"Well, this is what happens when you have sex with someone you do actually intend on dating before getting to know them first- it puts a whole new level of pressure and expectation to get along well, to be good together. You're trying too hard to justify losing your virginity to me and I'm trying too hard to make sure you don't regret it."

"So is this all just going to be horribly awkward forever now?"

"God no. We're going to slip into that carnival, go on a couple of rides, steal a stuffed animal and a prize or two, and have a kick ass time. Oh, and yeah to get rid of the awkwardness we'll just sleep with each other several times until the sunrises. That should do it." I joked. "Of course, we could just skip that first part and go right to the sex. The fair thing's irrelevant anyways."

"You do realize I'm probably never going to sleep with you again just for that, don't you, you gigantic man-whore?" She whacked my arm lightly.

I spun around suddenly and kissed her hard, pulling away when she responded with equal force. Laughing, I said, "We'll see about that, Mary."

"You suck!"

"And I do it quite well, wouldn't you say?"

Turning three shades of red, she shoved me and shot me a pseudo-glare.

"All right, all right no more sexual innuendos tonight."

"Thank you."

"Looks like it's go time." We had reached the gates. They looked fairly intimidating- or at least they would to Rory. Glancing at her, my assumption was proven correct. She was staring at the black iron with an expression not unlike that of abject terror. Raising my eyebrows, I was admittedly a little amused. "This isn't one of the gates of hell or anything."

"No, but crossing it could be crossing the first landmark on my path to hell." She wryly responded.

"I'm sure if God can forgive you for fornicating, He'll overlook a teensy little trespassing thing. Besides, you're already a sinner."

"Not literally." She rolled her eyes. "Tristan, as innocent and good-girl-y as you may see me as, I'm not actually a Catholic schoolgirl, our school uniform not withstanding. I'm not worried about offending God or of "sinning"- this is a) morally wrong, and b) against the law. Sleeping with you, though not exactly a shining example of my strong moral compass, could hardly be something that would land me in jail or kill my permanent record."

"Babe, they're not going to throw you in jail for this." I snorted. "And like I said before, we're not going to get caught. Nobody would care even if they were AROUND to care."

She didn't look convinced.

"Okay, fine. If anything happens that lands you in trouble, I will either bribe the authorities, launch an escape plan that's never failed me before, or tell them that I forced and manipulated your lamb-like self into coming with me in something that was absolutely all my fault." I looked upwards in exasperation. "But nothing will happen! If I'm wrong, and I am never wrong Gilmore, I won't disprove any lies you might want to spread about my sexual competence around school. Hell, I'll even give you a free kick at my balls."

Rory laughed slightly. With a slight sigh, she nodded.

Grinning widely, I went down on one knee. "Great. I'll boost you."

"You're kidding, right?" The girl eyed my knee dubiously.

"I won't let you fall."

"What if I lose balance?"

"Then I'll catch you."

"You don't understand- I have really bad balance!"

"I will catch you." I repeated, slower.

"What if I'm too heavy for you?"

At that, I let out an incredulous hoot. "That actually hurt my ego a little bit. You really think I'm that weak? Mary, my school textbooks weigh more than you."

"Ha ha." She took a breath and put her hand on my shoulder as she gingerly stepped onto my knee. She hadn't been kidding when she said she had no balance… her leg wobbled almost immediately. Laughing quietly, I steadied her calf with my hand.

"Okay, now let go of my shoulder and grab onto the bars."

"If I let go-"

"Trust me."

Swallowing nervously, Rory's fingers found their way to the gate. I moved my hands to her waist, knowing now that she needed the support.

"Now, use your foot that isn't on my knee to grip some part of the gate."

As she did so, I slowly stood up- helping her inch up the gate. She squeaked fearfully as her foot left my knee but I expertly moved under her, verbally urging her up as I did so.

She was high enough now that I could fit my head between her legs, as amazingly dirty as that sounds. A yelp left her lips and I smirked. I told her to hold on to the bars. I then started to climb up myself, toting the girl ahead of me as Rory was now effectively sitting (well, kneeling) on my shoulders.

We made it to the top in no time at all and I directed her in climbing over it. I followed suit and let her climb a bit by herself- I figured she could handle going down. I moved much faster than she did, obviously, so I spotted her as she went. I wasn't entirely surprised when she lost her footholds and almost fell.

"Let go, you're close enough to the bottom now anyways."

"You really are crazy."

"Come on. Don't you trust me?"

Peeking at me uncertainly, she pried her fingers off one by one and let herself fall- eyes firmly shut. The smirk was still on my face as I lazily moved forward to catch her and give her an easy landing.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

"If we get caught, I WILL make sure you're maimed and bleeding." She shot me a look and let out a relieved breath. "But… thanks, I guess. Never climbed a fence before."

"Big surprise." I teased.

We walked forward in silence that I felt obliged to break.

"You know, the only real reason I was worried about tonight was because I really didn't want to fuck up your first time, okay?"

"You didn't. I told you, I don't regret it." Glancing at me furtively, she bumped her hand against mine before wrapping her fingers in mine with an obvious air of nervousness. "It's not weird or too couple-y that I took your hand is it? It feels like a hand moment."

"I've never been really big on hand holding." I admitted. Seeing her face fall just minutely, I added smilingly, "But if I've learned anything from you it's that there's a first time for anything. I could start."

I have to confess it felt a little hokey holding her hand. I'm a bit of a moron when it comes to actual relationships… I've screwed girls; I've seduced them, I've bought them all sorts of shiny crap to keep them pacified, I've charmed my way out of several would-be castrations... But the hand-holding, the nervous first date, hell the dating- all of that was foreign. I had kind of thought all that stuff only existed in movies. I didn't think I had ever used tenderness not preluding or following roughness, sensuality without sex.

"So, did your ex ever get past the hand-holding, two second peck phase?" I couldn't help myself.

"Why do you do that?" Annoyance coated her tone and she dropped my hand. "You always follow something sweet with something jerk-like. I'm _sorry_ if holding my hand was too childish or whatever for you."

"It feels weird, okay?" I said uncomfortably.

She looked like she was a step away from crossing her arms and pouting so I slipped my arm around her waist.

"You're such a- argh."

"A argh?" I teased. "Okay, you're getting testy. We're going to have to hop on that ferris wheel and correct that."

"How exactly do you think we're going to be able to ride these things? I'm sensing the lack of a ride operator will prove slightly problematic." Rory pointed out as we both craned our necks to gaze at the full height of the Ferris wheel.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to."

"As deity-like as you may be, I don't think even you can manoeuvre the ride controls while we're actually on it."

"Maybe not, but who said I'll have to?" At her raised eyebrows, I smirked. "Be amazed and wowed by my magical abilities as I make a ride operator appear out of thin air."

I pulled out my phone. I knew a certain plebeian who worked at the park. What can I say, I really am well connected.

Keeping my voice low enough so that Rory wouldn't be able to hear, I spoke to a gawky junior I had met a year or so ago. "It's Tristan Dugrey. Yeah, why else would I be calling? If you can get here in under five minutes I'll give you an extra $30. If you can get here in fewer than two- I'll bump that up to an extra $60." I could hear the guy shuffling around on the other end, already rushing to go.

Hanging up, I turned back to the girl and used my most charming grin. "Now, I'll just say the special incantation…" I rattled off pieces of random latin (I had been forced to learn it as a tween so I was going to damn well put it to use) and made circular motions with my hands.

Hearing the faint sound of panting that signalled my success, my grin broadened. Oh, what that poor sucker wouldn't do for money. "Behold the dazzlement!"

Tanner Jones, worker of the town theme park of the last three years, hurtled into view red-faced and dishevelled.

"And then there was man."

I tried not to look too self-satisfied. Rory looked startled and amused. Man, this routine never got old.

Helping Rory into one of the compartments of the wheel, I nodded expectantly at the worker. He was still trying to catch his breath as he powered up the ride. He looked at me with irritation and weary predilection. I winked at him conspiratorially and the resentment faded from his expression as he smiled back in spite of himself. As much of an ass as I could be, people couldn't help but like me. Some would call me manipulative, that I use people. I say I'm charismatic, and people can't resist wanting to help me.

"So you had this fair thing planned all along then."

"What? No- I honestly had no idea you'd actually want to come here. Ending up here is just as much of surprise to me as it is to you."

"But how the heck did you get that guy to come here so fast-?"

"You shouldn't doubt my talents." I shrugged, placing my arm around her shoulders.

Letting the subject drop, she fixed her gaze on the expansive grounds laid out from under us as we slowly lurched up.

"Wow. Being on one of these things when everything is shut off is more than a little eerie."

"Wanna play Would You Rather?"

She looked at me, surprised again, and smiled. What, did she actually think I was going to rape her or something? …Well, okay so I _had_ hooked up more than a few times on this particular ride in this exact park but that's beside the point.

"You know, considering how much effort you put into acting like a constantly horny womanizer, you're surprisingly unphysical."

"You're complaining?"

"I'm surprised." Rory half-smiled, "What, was I so bad that you lost all desire in touching me?" The joke didn't manage to cloak the slight wavering of her voice that revealed she wasn't being entirely flippant about this.

"I'm beginning to think you just want me for my body, Rory Gilmore." I teased. "Don't you appreciate my personality? I'm more than just my penis."

"Oh, shut up." She elbowed my ribs.

"Honestly girl, I have no idea what you want. You had that whole spazz about messing around with me without really knowing me and now that I'm trying to do the whole getting to know each other thing you hint at wanting to mess around again."

"Well this is sort of new to me. I haven't exactly been in a situation like this before."

"It's new for me too." I rolled my eyes. "I don't exactly stick around long enough to get to know girls I hook up with at parties."

"I'm starting to think you're a relationship virgin," She said playfully.

"Uh, does the name 'Summer' ring any bells to you?"

She snorted. "You two seemed like more of an exclusive, extended booty call than anything."

"We weren't." I clenched my jaw. Christ, I had only broken up with Summer two fucking days ago.

Obviously realizing she had touched a nerve, Rory back-pedalled. "…I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry."

"I've been dating since the fifth grade. When did you start, huh?"

"Dean was my first boyfriend." Rory said; her voice small.

"That's what I thought, _Mary_, so don't go calling me inexperienced."

I was being overly defensive but damn it, Summer was still my sore spot.

"I was joking- it's a concept I thought you had down pat." I was still clenching my jaw tensely so she bent forwards and pressed her lips over mine. "Tristan, come on. You know I wasn't mocking you or anything of the sort."

Relaxing slightly, I returned the kiss, sliding my hand under her unzipped jacket to rest lightly over her waist. She placed her hands on my chest, thumbing the collar of my shirt (my coat was only half done up) and then downwards over my pecks. I don't know why the hell everything she does affects me so damn much, but it felt so sensual.

I pulled away before my body had a chance to betray me with a boner.

"So, did you have some heart-wrenching break up that turned you into the one-night stand person you are today?" The girl asked lightly, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"No." The truth that I wasn't going to admit to her was that she was right. I wasn't experienced at all with relationships. Summer had been the closest I had ever come and Lord knows half the reason I went out with her to begin with was to nurse the frustration in finding how resistant Gilmore was to my initial advances.

I had always been good looking, even as a kid. Older girls constantly wanted to be with me and they were always attracted to me- so it's not like I didn't want a relationship…it's just that everywhere I went girls were throwing themselves at me and the only thing I knew, the only thing I had ever had was physicality. I never minded, of course. I am after all one of the few guys who rarely needed to get off with his hand.

"Did you have any reason behind not dating until Bag Boy?" I asked back.

Rory shrugged, "No one asked."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well, it's not like I liked anyone before Dean, either."

"Did you love him?"

"Did you forget why we broke up?" Her tone was sarcastic, but there had been a flash of panic at being asked that question.

"Just 'cause you couldn't say it doesn't mean you didn't feel it." I answered simply.

"Is this really what you want to be talking about on our first date? My ex-boyfriend?" Oh, she was clearly uncomfortable now.

She was right, of course. But I realized something important when she kissed me just now… I actually did like this girl. Yeah, I had my suspicions at first but this was the moment it sunk in that damn, she really was more than a fuck. And I was not going to be a second rate replacement for bag boy in her eyes.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're over him."

"It's been three days since we broke up!"

"Yeah, and in that time span you slept with and started dating someone else." I pointed out. "You can't exactly use that incredulously miffed tone in this situation."

"I don't want to talk about him."

"And I don't want to be with you if you love another guy." I rolled my eyes. "I'm nobody's rebound, okay?"

"You're not the rebound, trust me."

"Then why are you with me? Judging from your lack of response to my asking if you loved him, I'm going to take a wild jump and say you do. And if you do love him, and he loves you, excuse me if I'm a little confused as to why you're with me."

"He never kissed me like you do." Rory said, softly.

"Sorry if that doesn't surprise me. If you're going to compare technique, obviously I'm the better-"

"It's not the technique. It's the intensity." She interrupted. "He never pushed passed a certain point. It was like he was scared he would break me if he went further. You…you're not afraid of that."

"You know, that's the trait you hated me for when we first met. What you call being intense now, you used to call being a horny ass hole."

She ignored my words and kept going. "I was his glass princess. He… was in awe of me, but he didn't want me. N-not like you do."

"So you're saying you're with me because I'm a good kisser who sees you as a good fuck, as opposed to being the guy who was concerned about your comfort levels and who worshipped who you were. Physicality over substance." I raised an eyebrow. "Wow."

"What I'm saying is I'm with you because you see _me._ Not some perfect princess who doesn't exist. All those bad things about me you listed… you see my flaws. Do you know how anxious I used to get trying to live up to the image Dean had of me? Yeah, you see me as a person to sleep with- tangible, human. He loved me because he thought I was an angel of some sort. And I thought I loved him because he was like the Prince Charming from the fairytales. But I'm not a princess and maybe I don't want a Prince Charming anymore! That's why I wish you'd stop saying stuff like you think you're tainting me- I'm not a white lamb and you don't have to censor yourself." Her voice was heated and her words blurring together in the haste that she spoke them in. "Why do I have to tell you all of this? Why are you trying to make things hard?"

"I needed to make sure you knew what you were getting into." I answered matter-of-factly. "There have been a lot of girls who were with me because they thought I'd be their prince. I needed to make sure you weren't one of them. You can't blame me for being concerned that you'd hop so easily to me from a guy who's about my polar opposite."

"We're only quasi-dating, anyways." Rory looked away. "All of this seriousness is a waste of time."

"Look. I just wouldn't have forgiven you if you fucked me and then went back to him, okay? I had to know."

"I'm not going back to him." Her voice was quiet, almost indifferent. "I couldn't now even if I wanted to. Not after you." The way she said it didn't make it sound like a compliment.

My mind went a little insane attempting to decipher what she meant. Did she think I defiled her and she now wasn't pure enough for the perfect little grocer? Did she feel obligated to stay with me because I took her virginity and she'd feel slutty otherwise? Or did fucking me make her want to be with me, against every wish she had?

I wanted to make her clarify, but we had talked so much already and she was getting tired of the topic. Before I could form any words, she put her hand over my mouth to stop my questions. Shutting her eyes tightly, she pulled me towards her and covered my lips with hers feverishly, almost desperately. I had to pull away to breathe and when I did so, she moved her lips to my jaw.

I was confused and very, very distracted by the fact that her hand was on my leg and steadily moving upwards.

Stopping her hand, I asked breathlessly, "I thought you said stuff like this wasn't you? You weren't ready…?"

She quickly retracted her hand and slid away from me. Covering her face with her hands, Rory choked, "I don't know what I am any more. I don't know what I want." Looking up at me, I was startled and horrified to see she had tears building up in her eyes. "I want to feel what you made me feel two days ago. I can't…I can't stop thinking about it and it felt so good. I want to forget that feeling so I can go back to being me. Everything's different now and it's so stupid and dramatic and ridiculous and I don't want to be like this."

All right, so the decent thing to do would have been to comfort her and tell her we weren't going to do anything physical until her head was at a better place.

What I actually did was kiss her again as I finished unbuttoning her buttons. Hearing her say that she couldn't stop thinking about how good it felt to have me in her made my cock twitch with stimulation. I gathered her in my lap and undid her front-opening bra. She exhaled raggedly as I cupped her breast; my other hand undoing the knotted string waistband of her pants.

"Should I stop?" It wasn't a question of asking for permission. I wanted to hear her say she wanted me.

"Maybe," She managed.

I frowned. "Doesn't sound like you want to stop." My hand found its way down the front of her pants. I pressed the tips of two fingers into her pussy, relishing the moan that escaped her. "But then, I wouldn't want to do something you don't want." Removing my hand, I shifted away from her; leaving her breathless and cold.

"No!" She whimpered.

Looking like she was in pain without my touch, she seized my collar and kissed me. I felt her hand grab mine and place it over her cunt. "Don't stop, Tristan, please."

"Tell me you want me." My hand stroked slowly, torturously. "Tell me you want me in you."

"I shouldn't be doing this." She murmured. My head whipped up to look at her but she didn't look like she was going to pull away. Despite her words, she unbuttoned my jeans, her hand brushing my crotch in the process. Closing her eyes as she pressed herself against me (oh God, oh God my dick could feel her slit even with the fabric in the way), she breathed, "I want you in me."

Running my lips hotly against the skin of her collar bone and chest, my fingers yanked down her pants before expertly unzipping my own pants. Rubbing my boxered cock against her fabric covered cunt, my hand felt under her panties to caress her ass. Forcing the underwear down, I wrapped my arms around her as I switched our positions. She kissed my neck as she pulled down my boxers and in a fluid motion I pushed her legs apart, kissed her breasts, and fucked her forcefully. I could feel her shaking with what I took to be pleasure but which I would soon realize were sobs.

She did nothing but hold on to my back as tightly as she could; the ride still making a steady loop in the sky.

Pulling away after a few minutes, my hands still cupping her ass, I looked at her fiercely and saw no regret, no fear. Breathing heavily, she met my eyes. "I think I need you now." Her face was stained with tears. She had been crying the whole time.

"You don't need anything." I grunted, eyes blazing. "Need implies a lack of choice. You want me." Pulling my pants back on as the ride powered down, I stood up. "And I want you too. So fuck, Rory; stop acting like this is such a bad thing. Just because you've had sex, you like sex, and you're planning on having more sex doesn't mean you're a different person. You wouldn't have an identity crisis if you took up jogging- this isn't much different."

"I-" She faltered as she put her pants back on.

I cut her off by thumbing her still exposed breast. "You've made something very clear to me. It's obvious you want to fuck me and that you didn't want it to just be a one time thing, as you so innocently implied earlier." Tweaking her nipple casually, I ignored the tiny moan she let loose. "It's obvious that all your protests stem from not a desire to stop me, or yourself for that matter, but from the annoying stalwart conscience you have that's telling you that you _shouldn't_ want this. That it's "wrong". Let me let you in on something." Leaning in close enough to brush my nose against her cheek, I whispered, "You don't need permission. You can want whatever the fuck you want. It isn't wrong. You shouldn't feel guilty. And you sure as hell shouldn't act a certain way just because you think that's what's expected of you. Stop being the girl you think people think you are and start doing what you want."

Zipping up her coat for her, I took her hand and helped her off the ride.

We didn't talk about anything outside of small talk for the remainder of the eight rides we went on. I don't know if I was mad at her, mad at myself for possibly taking advantage of her, or just simply exasperated by this whole screwing a Mary thing. I didn't stick around after I Magdalene'd girls and THIS was exactly why. Way too much in the worrying department, what with the guilt and the 'is it right?' and the fucking need to justify every sexual thing.

I liked Rory. I liked her a lot. But tonight was not exactly my idea of a good night. Yeah, okay, so I could excuse her since it's the first time we've seen each other since she lost her virginity, but I wasn't good in these situations. Girls don't think I'm an ass hole for nothing.

"I'm sorry. You're not having very much fun, are you?" Rory said as we walked off a fruit-themed version of the tea cups.

"Considering the fact that we snuck into a theme park after hours and have it to ourselves in the dark, not really." I sighed, trying not to sound impatient. Glancing at her sideways, I added in a sharp apology. "And I'm sorry too; I shouldn't have fucked you in the Ferris wheel. You're obviously a head case right now."

"I didn't exactly push you away."

"You were crying." I said shortly. "Clearly I was a dipshit to do anything with you."

I was walking fast due to my mood and the hollowness of the park made me want to scream out at the dark. I normally liked the isolation of the empty theme park but at the moment I felt suffocated by the lack of movement around me.

"I wasn't crying because you were hurting me, or because I didn't want to be doing that." She tried to keep up with my pace. "You were right. I was crying because I wanted it and I felt dirty for wanting it."

"You always feel dirty around me." I snorted. "I'll just take you home. You can shower and wash off the grime, forget all about it." Whipping around to face her, I spat, "I mean, seriously. Quasi-dating? That was yet another justification for having sex. You don't want to date me but you can't tolerate the idea of sex for the sake of sex. It's pointless."

"I do want to date you!"

"Then stop sitting there waiting for me to make a move on you!" My voice level was rising. "All night you're practically holding your breath, wondering if I'm gonna try to fuck you again."

"That's because I didn't know what to expect from tonight!" She cried out. "I didn't know if your idea of dating me was just getting together to hook up; I didn't know what you expected from me! It made me anxious."

"Fucking hell. Get this through your goddamned head. I don't expect anything from you." Thank God our ride operator was known for being tight lipped. I'd kill someone if this whole ordeal got out. "You think I'm a sex-crazed player. That's my rep, right? And no matter how hard I try to tell you it's more than that with you, you're just not gonna believe me are you? I can have a good time without having sex."

"Tristan, stop." She had to practically run to match my pace now.

"I tried to be patient. I really did." My hands were raised helplessly as I tried to be articulate. "I just can't do this with you. I wish I could, but I can't. So if you're going to be a confused mess of morality and lust-"

"Tristan?"

"What?"

"You're good looking, funny, charming, and bold. But you're just as much of a head case with this as I am."

"I always thought people were full of shit when they said sex changes everything." I sighed.

"If we didn't do that at the party, I would probably be a couple feet deep in ice cream and sad movies right now. Mourning for something I wasn't really that sad to lose." She took my hand. "Now. Stop getting mad. Stop talking. We're going to enjoy this night and we're going to enjoy it together."

"Okay."

"And then we're going to get rid of the awkwardness by having sex several times."

I started laughing but one glance at her face made me realize she wasn't entirely joking.

"Can't hurt, right?" She smirked, kissing the side of my mouth.

"Well, I actually wouldn't recommend that." I chuckled. "You're going to be pretty sore if we-"

Ah, there was the blushing I was used to. Because I'm a dick like that, I didn't drop it. "I'm actually sort of surprised you haven't experienced the soreness already."

"I kind of have."

"Oh, but it was worth pushing through the pain?"

"Could your ego get any bigger?" Rory glared at me, though it was written across her face how right I was. "This isn't fair at all. You shouldn't be able to do that to me when I can't affect you at all."

"Mary, you have no idea how many cold showers I've taken thanks to you." I smirked.

"Well, I guess that at least won't be necessary any more." She grinned mischievously.

"Ah, fuck I'm getting hard already." I groaned with a smile, squeezing her shoulder warmly.

xXx

As disappointing as it was, Rory wasn't easily spooked when it came to rides. I had been so looking forward to the clinging on the roller coaster too.

Anyways, we managed to scrape a little bit of fun at the theme park but I was getting fidgety and I was feeling bad for Tanner anyways.

We went to exit the park and Rory started climbing the fence. I chortled and pulled on her sleeve, leading her to a partially obscured side entrance. I had a key.

"Why didn't we just do that when we came in?" Her jaw dropped.

"Because then you would still have never climbed a fence." I grinned.

"Evil jerk!" She punched my arm.

"Taking risks is a good thing. How exciting would it have been to walk through a door?"

"Evil."

I laughed and let her walk ahead of me to the car.

Turning to my silent friend, I handed the guy a cheque. "Thank you as always for your services, Tan my Man."

"Doesn't the whole thing get old?" He took the paper and met my eyes, genuinely interested. "I mean, you must have done this twenty times with a different chick or three each time."

"Did you see what happened on the Ferris wheel?"

At the way he stopped meeting my eyes, I had my answer. Smirking, I patted his shoulder. "No, it never gets old."

I could almost feel the admiring gaze the guy was giving me as I walked to the car.

It was good to be me, what can I say.

As we started driving on a very deserted highway, Rory said, "I'm glad we did this tonight."

"Me too. But you make it sound like tonight's over."

"Isn't it?"

"Pffh. It's only 4:30! There's plenty of time before sun rise." At the look she gave me, I added, "What? You tired?"

"It's 4:30, if you're going to keep me up then I demand coffee."

"Mm I could really use a jolt of caffeine too, actually. We'll head towards one. We're on the outskirts of town right now but it'll only be maybe another twenty minutes before we head back into civilization and starbucks."

"So what do you have in mind now?"

"Movie marathon?"

"You're kidding right? We can't drive all the way to your house and get me back to Stars Hollow before my mom gets back."

"My car has a DVD system."

"A marathon constitutes more than three movies back to back- and I need to be back by seven. We wouldn't have time anyways."

"Fine, fine. You're right." I pulled the car to a stop.

"What are you doing?"

I got out and gestured for her to do the same. "I'm making you appreciate just how cool it is to be in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night." I waved my arms expansively. "I mean, take it in." Raising my voice to a yell, I shouted, "You can scream your ass off and no one would hear you for miles!"

"I vote we go back to civilization and starbucks." Rory eyed the car.

I hopped onto the hood of my car. "There are stars. And _silence_. It's really the purest form of night that exists."

She sighed and sat down beside me. "It is beautiful."

"But?"

"Maybe I'm still a teeny bit skittish at the whole being completely alone with you thing."

"Afraid I'll rape and assault you?"

"Afraid you won't have to." She answered, looking at me levelly.

Oh, that's right. Who's good in bed? I fucking am.

"So, we're going to have to watch a marathon next time then. I have a feeling you haven't seen a very big collection-"

"Oh, please. My expertise in movie watching makes the amount you've seen obsolete." She snorted.

"Oh yeah?" I raised my eyebrows. "Star Wars?"

"That's insulting, right there. You actually think I haven't seen the series that revolutionized sci-fi? Casablanca?"

"Of course. Clockwork Orange?"

"The Matrix."

"Fight Club."

"Breakfast Club!"

We sat there on the hood of my car randomly shouting movie names at each other for a good fifteen minutes.

"Favourite film of all time." She asked.

"Naughty Nurses." I joked. "Nah, Lord of the Rings, you?"

"Not nearly as mainstream, you sell out." Rory teased. "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, hands down."

"Gene Wilder irritates me, truth be told."

"Yeah well he's better than Elijah Wood."

"Oh, it's on. We're having a favourite film marathon next time. I'll convert you yet."

"So we're definitely going to do this again sometime, then?" She smiled.

"Of course."

"Even though we sailed through some awkwardness?"

"Well obviously that'll be gone by the time we do this again, what with all the sex we'll have to get ride of it." I cheerfully replied.

She laughed a little and started unbuttoning her shirt.

"Hun, I was kidding," I laughed.

"I know." She shrugged, moving closer to me. "But I want to."

"You do realize I wasn't serious when I said this was the only way we'd get things un-awkward right?"

"They already are un-awkward." She unzipped my jacket. "But see, the last two times, you initiated it. You did everything. I hadn't been sure." Undoing my shirt now, she smiled, "But I'm sure now."

"Outside in the middle of nowhere in 9 degrees." I shook my head. "You're something, all right."

Kissing her lightly, I caressed her bare waist and smiled as I felt her fingers trace the muscles of my stomach.

I was very, very pleased. Her kisses weren't desperate or hesitant now. They were playful, animated. All her movements were. It didn't feel like I was coaxing her into doing anything anymore… she was more than willing.

I got lost in her taste and for once I forgot about all the stuff that comes after kissing and just focused on making out.

Of course, I remembered again and so slid my fingers under her bra, ready to unhook. She moved her hand down to my crotch and cupped me with only a short beat of hesitance.

Losing the spurt of confidence, she dropped her hand and broke the kiss to ask, "That wasn't… was that? Should I have-?"

I laced our fingers together and brought her hand back to where it had been. "No, Mar, that felt good." Resuming the kiss, my eyes fell shut again.

Cautiously, she moved her hand back and forth. I moaned into her mouth and bit down lightly on her lip.

Her hand dipped down into my pants and slowly skin met skin. Oh fucking God…

Just as slowly, she took her hand out of my boxers, resulting in me moaning out, "Rory, God, don't stop…"

She kissed me deeply, her tongue dancing with mine, and then she pulled back from me, jumping off the car with a laugh.

"What-?"

"I'm teaching you something." She grinned as she did her shirt back up. "You see, Tristan Dugrey, Sex God extraordinaire, being physical doesn't always end in sleeping together. We don't always have to have sex to, you know, do things."

"You are such a goddamn tease." I exhaled frustrated, though I'll admit I was amused. I fell back against my car as every fiber of my body objected to the loss of her contact.

I slid off the hood and back into the car, not even bothering to fix my shirt. Grinning, Rory pulled me to her and kissed me again. I was still disoriented from the last thing she did to me so I fell over backwards into the window. She laughed at the sight of me. Growling playfully, I grabbed her. "You think this is funny, do you?"

Plunging my hands into her pants, I cupped her ass and squeezed. She gasped out loud. Nipping her ear, I let my thumb press against her clit.

Watching her eyes loll back, I retracted my hand, turned forward in my seat, and started the car. "Unfortunately for you, here's an addendum to your lesson. You're not the only one who can tease."

Removing the keys from the ignition and prying them out of my hands, the girl kissed me lightly and stared at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. "What if I said I really, really wanted you to go further?"

"Nice try." I chuckled, stealing the keys back.

"Darn." She said. "I really thought that would work."

"Young grasshopper, you have a lot to learn." I started driving.

Her fingers lightly danced across my thigh. "What about that?"

I slipped my arm around her waist and dipped my fingers just into the waistband of her pants. "Mary, you're not going to win."

Trying a new tactic, she surprisingly wrapped her hand over mine and pushed it lower.

My eyes fluttered for a second as I swallowed. I sunk my nails into her skin and her breathing hitched.

Glancing at her sideways as I felt how wet she was, I laughed. "This is a ridiculous game with the sole result of landing us both incredibly frustrated." She didn't say anything, only leaning into my hand with an expression of ecstasy flitting over her features as she attempted to guide my fingers into her. "That, and you know land us in a car crash burning and screaming since I _am_ driving here."

"How do you _do_ that?" She asked raggedly, her body rather plainly completely affected and wanting more. I decided to oblige her and thrust my middle finger into her as far as it would go, crooking it slightly to where I guessed her G-spot was. Rory's breathing rapidly turned to panting.

"Experience." I answered, alternating between looking at the road and watching her writhe all hot and bothered.

Pulling my finger out, I fixed her clothes one-handedly and, making sure she was watching, slipped my finger between my lips.

She swallowed again and I smirked. "Has anyone ever told you how good you taste?"

The girl clenched her teeth together and turned away from me. "You have to stop it."

"Don't you like it?" I breathed seductively while laughing internally.

"I can't breathe and I think my insides are melting out, stop it, please." She gritted, eyes crammed shut.

"I'd love to feel that," I continued in the same tone, enjoying this way too much. "Your insides melting out all around me as I-"

She was turning very red.

"Oh, here we are. Starbucks and civilization." I changed topics easily and left the car, strolling over to her side to see she hadn't moved an inch. "Hmm. Maybe I'll have to carry you."

"Shut up, devil spawn." She opened her eyes and jumped out. "You really are evil. Now let's get some coffee. I'm dying for a taste."

"I'd rather taste you." I whispered evilly in her ear as we entered the store.

"I'm going to get you back for this," She promised after gulping yet again.

"Hey, you started this game."

"It's not my fault I don't know what I'm doing," she muttered.

"Trust me, that's part of what makes you a major turn on to me."

By the time I got her home, she looked like she needed to stand in a cold shower for a couple million hours. We had arrived at about 6:30 in the morning and after all the teasing I inflicted on her I was a fair bit horny myself. Not that I'd tell her that.

"Good night." She said. "Well, morning. Bye. I'll call you. Or you can call me. But, um, yeah bye."

"Bye." I chuckled, giving her a brief kiss goodbye.

She pulled me back, pushing the kiss further, deeper, hotter. "Bye." She made to open the door. No way. I crushed against her, my lips searing into hers.

She pushed me off of her. "Talk to you later."

Eyeing her rumpled clothing, disheveled hair, and heavy breathing I got very turned on, very quickly.

I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame and covered her lips again, not caring when I lost balance and we both fell over into my seat.

After a few minutes of frantic making out, Rory sat up again. "I really should go."

"But you taste so good," I breathed, kissing her neck softly.

"You know how much I want you to- how much I want to have-" She cleared her throat and held the door handle. "But I have to go."

"Yeah, okay." I murmured, sucking on her throat.

"Really."

"I know."

She moved her hands to push me off but when I moved to bite her collar bone, they fisted themselves in my hair instead.

"That feel good?"

I could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest. Her fingers found their way to the bottom of my shirt and she started lifting it up, her knuckles skimming my abdomen as she did so.

The very faint sound of a window closing somewhere in the distance made Rory jump. Releasing my shirt, she sat bolt right. "What am I thinking? We're in Stars Hollow! Anyone could see… I'd get in so much trouble." Opening the door, she darted out.

"Rory…" I groaned pleadingly.

"I'll see you later!" She whispered back distractedly, shutting the door.

Ah, fucking hell. This was going to be a long ass drive back to Hartford.


	7. The 4 S's of the Second Date

**AN: **I'm back, haha. I'm very glad you guys were so receptive to the first date. I've finally gotten around to making an outline for this fic and I'll tell you now, there's gonna be a lot more smut to come :P Thanks for reading.

* * *

_**6. The 4 S's of the Second Date: **Skipping, Sneaking, Skinnying, & Sexing_

* * *

You'd think I'd have been dead tired after being up all night but I was actually rather wired. I went at least 20km/hr faster than the speed limit at any given time all the way through the hick town Rory lived in but once I hit the major cities again I was hit with morning traffic. People worked early even on Sundays. 

Sauntering home after parking the car in one of the garages, I was intercepted by a manservant. Apparently, Chilton had started calling people a half hour ago sending out the message that there would be no school until further notice. A strike or maintenance issues, something about a flood? I didn't pay much attention to the details. An impromptu break from school was definitely a good thing and with luck it'd last a while.

I needed a shower. I felt sticky with sweat and in all likelihood a mix of other bodily fluids. Throwing off my jacket, I jogged upstairs. There was a maid up there that I hadn't seen around before.

"You're new." I stated.

She nodded. "You must be Mr. Dugrey."

I winked at her before dodging into the bathroom, noticing a familiar smile on her face that I had seen echoed among a multitude of women. She was young, under thirty. My mother must have hired her- God knows my father never would have. He was well aware of my promiscuity and after walking in on me banging a thirty-something-year-old maid when I was about fourteen, I hadn't seen a woman in the place under forty five.

Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I smirked. I had sex hair and my clothes were thoroughly messed up. Who knew Rory could be a little sex kitten?

After a long, long shower I cinched a towel around myself loosely and decided to head for the kitchen. I was craving ice cream like nothing else.

As I left the washroom, I bumped into the new maid. She dropped the basket of crap she had been carrying. I caught it for her, causing my towel to slip an inch or two. She turned red. Was my mother an absolute idiot?

"Sorry!"

I chuckled and patted her shoulder. "No worries. What's your name, anyways?"

"Mary."

Ah fuck, the woman was killing me. Another appreciative laugh escaped me. "Does it fit you?"

She looked confused so I just shook my head. Giving her an elaborate once over, I gave her a nod of goodbye before going downstairs. Damn, this one would have been so easy.

xXx

"_Are you totally insane?" _

"Well, actua-"

"And don't say parts of you are missing!"

"You've seen all of me; obviously nothing's missing." I grinned, enjoying her irritated groan.

I had managed to prevent the Chilton phone call from making its way to the Gilmore house and had innocently suggested we meet up at a coffee shop before school. After cajoling her into 'skipping first period', she anxiously squirmed as she made me break several speed laws to get us to the school.

I went ahead of her and unlocked the door without her noticing. It took her a good few minutes to realize that something was off with the school. She was too distracted by her mild panic at skipping to notice where I was leading her. She babbled lowly about getting in trouble and how stupid it was to skip and how she was never doing it again…before cutting herself off to ask me why the heck we were standing beside the school pool.

I just looked at her until she squinted and asked why there wasn't anyone else around.

I just looked at her as she looked all around us and commented on how the lights were all off.

The look of agitation and suspicion on her face dissolved my blankness and I burst out laughing, finally deigning to tell her that the school was actually closed and would be for a while. This is where she jabbed my chest with her hand and questioned my sanity.

"You convinced me to skip school when there wasn't any school to skip."

"Well I would never actually condone the true destruction of your education. That would make me a very bad influence." I said seriously.

"You broke us into the school!"

I waved the skeleton key at her and shrugged. "Does it really count as breaking in if I just unlocked a door? Sneaking in, sure, but there was no breaking involved."

Giving me a very dirty look, she made an angry sounding noise in her throat and tired to shove me into the pool. Unfortunately for her, my instinct was to steady myself- resulting in her falling instead. Hey, don't look at me like that; I _tried_ to catch her.

The noise of the splash echoed across the chamber, mingled with my startled laughter and her piercing shriek. She floundered fully clothed, her glare slowly dissolving into an amused chuckle. "You're such a jerk."

"There's something you've failed to realize, sugar-" I laughed as I knelt down to test the temperature of the water. Comfortably warm.

She understood what I meant almost instantly. "Wait, why did you take me to the pool?"

Grinning devilishly, I unzipped my jacket. "Well, I had wanted to introduce you to the wonderful world of skinny dipping, but then you had to get impatient and dive in with your clothes on." Undoing my belt, I continued, "Oh well, guess I'll just have to get naked first."

I heard her mutter indistinctly about my sanity again as I disposed of the last of my clothes and jumped in.

"I can't believe you just-!" She shook her head, looking anywhere but at me.

"You're going to freeze your ass off if you swim in those clothes, not to mention it'll be uncomfortable and hard to move."

"Then I'll do the rational thing and get out of the pool."

"Ah, come on. Skinny dipping's fun. Just give it a try. Have I ever led you wrong before?"

"I get the feeling I'm going to end up arrested if these dates keep up," She swam away from me and latched onto the edge of the pool.

Sighing, I swam to her and put my arms on either side of her, boxing her in. "No, you won't. I'm careful."

She eyed my arms and tried to back up but I hadn't given her very much space to do that so she bumped into me. She apologized automatically as per her nature. I told her that she didn't have to be sorry. "When are you going to realize that I like skin-on-skin contact?"

"Let's hear you say that when I deck you in the face."

"I'm up for a little S&M."

Turning around so she could give me a look, she swallowed as her eyes involuntarily took in my chest that was at her eyelevel. She looked away and told me to move. She said that she had no room to swim and nothing to hold on to and that if I refused to move the only direction she'd be going in was down. Laughing, I told her that she could hold on to me.

Glaringly, she threatened that her leg was in a prime position to cause me intense pain and moved her leg between mine warningly. Of course, feeling her knee touch my very bare cock turned me on instead of the alarm she intended. I let out a pleased sigh.

She blushed and moved her leg.

Giving up, I rolled my eyes and moved my arms. "Fine."

"You do realize we'd drown anyways, right? Doing 'it' while trying to keep afloat wouldn't work very well unless we leaned against the edge and this is a high school pool, how sanitary would that be?" She rambled.

"Weren't you the one who said everything wasn't about sex?" I laughed. "Skinny dipping for the sake of skinny dipping, without leading to anywhere, is pretty freeing. I mean, I was trying to get you more comfortable with your body, in your own skin. You're so skittish with the idea of nudity, ashamed almost, and there's no reason to be."

"I am not ashamed-"

I spread my arms out and allowed my body to float close to the surface of the water, lazily swimming a slow lap around. What's the name of that…the star fish? I star fished out. "Then why are your eyes trained on the wall? You've seen what I look like naked, I've seen what you look like. I don't get why this is hard."

"It's embarrassing!"

"Why? I don't mind the way I look, and I certainly don't mind the way you look. Do you?"

"I don't have any deep-rooted self-esteem issues, Tristan."

"Well, then why not? We're completely alone. There's nothing new to be seen. It's a new experience that can't possibly hurt you."

"It's-I mean-" She stammered, groping for an excuse I knew she wouldn't find, "I-there's- this is ridiculous, of course there's a lot of reasons why we shouldn't…"

"Uh huh."

"It's probably unsanitary!"

"Considering they clean out the pool every Saturday and we're the first people to be in here since Friday, I'm thinking it's pretty damn clean."

"It's-"

"Uncouth?" I supplied mockingly. "Unladylike? Not socially acceptable?"

"You-"

"Look, I'm _not_ saying you have to show skin to show you're not afraid of your body, but I _am_ saying that you aren't very comfortable in your skin. Nudity isn't wrong. Society's just fucked up."

"Oh yeah so you really do just genuinely want to help me with this exercise."

"And I like seeing you naked." I answered easily. I glanced over at her when she didn't respond and just as I thought, she was blushing furiously and staring at the ledge of the pool. Grinning, I added, "Oh, ode to the sexy breasts-"

"Tristan!" Rory sounded scandalized.

"And beautiful hands," I didn't feel like stopping just yet. "Oh, and we have to mention the faint formation of abs… and your rockin' ass."

"Stop it…"

"You know what? I really like your ears. Come on, babe. Honestly. What could it hurt?"

She deliberated for a little while longer, before letting out a sigh.

"These clothes _are_ pretty heavy…" Shutting her eyes and reopening them, she said, "Freeing, right?"

"Try everything once, I always say."

"Can you keep me above water while I take stuff off?" Rory asked reluctantly.

Beaming, I swam to her. Excellent.

"I can help you," I leered.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

Feeling the horny side of me give way to genuine amusement, I chuckled and started with her buttons. She still seemed somewhat exasperated with me until she realized I really wasn't trying to hit on her. We peeled off her dress shirt before we both looked down and stared at the shoes she was still wearing.

One hand clinging to the ledge, Rory attempted to scrunch over and pull the shoe off with her remaining hand. It was cute, really, how she simply didn't think of the fact that I could just do it for her.

Ducking underwater, it only took me a few seconds to dislodge both shoes.

"I'll do the rest myself, thank you," She arched her eyebrows pointedly at first but quickly gave way to a grin. "Hold me up?"

"With relish." I slipped my hands around her bare waist, enjoying the shiver that the action triggered.

In a matter of minutes, both of us were very much naked. I had let go of her by this time, knowing she would want me to, and was watching her look at a spot somewhere over my shoulder.

"Feeling uncomfortable?"

"A little."

"You're making the naked thing into too big of a deal," I shrugged. "Just…forget about it. Forget that you're not wearing anything. It doesn't matter." Pushing off from the wall, I started swimming again. "Just hang out."

I made it a point not to check her out or even look at any part of her aside from her face. After a few minutes of awkwardly attempting to keep everything from her shoulders down under water, she tentatively tried to follow my advice and loosened up. When she did a few laps of the front crawl and couldn't catch me staring at her breasts, she grinned minutely and relaxed fully.

"This is really peaceful." Rory admitted after we had been swimming for half an hour in relative silence. We were both floating aimlessly and I was very pleased that she didn't seem to care that her chest was completely exposed. I tried not to fixate on the fact that her nipples were hardened from the chilled temperature difference of the water in the pool and the air surrounding it.

"Like I said, skinny dipping is freeing." I answered without looking at her."You're less uncomfortable now, aren't you?"

"And not just with skinny dipping." Rory grinned, changing positions so she could swim towards me. Her eyes brimming with good nature, she splashed me in the face.

Treading water, I smirked and returned the favour; laughing as she shrieked and swam away. She got me in the eyes and knocked her elbow into my chest but I quickly caught up with her and jokingly dunked her head.

Resurfacing, spluttering, Rory released an indignant laugh, whirled out of my grasp, manoeuvred behind me, and dove onto my back. I gasped in surprise as my entire upper body collided into the water; swallowing a mouthful of said water.

Taking hold of her legs while her arms were still wrapped around my neck, I pushed myself backwards to submerge the girl. Her legs instinctively tightened around my waist as we both dropped several feet deeper, both of us kicking and flailing madly in an attempt to get the upper hand.

We pushed each other underwater a bit before we both ran out of air and propelled ourselves back towards the surface. Gasping heavily, I rubbed water from my eyes and noticed that I recovered first. Grinning, I cupped my hands and flooded Rory's face.

She shook her hair out of her face and shoved both her hands over my shoulders, forcing me down. I tripped her leg, making her keel over sideways, and swam out of her reach.

Swimming laughingly away from her, I made random jerky direction changes as she chased me.

"I'm so the winner of this fight you started," I mocked her after getting water in her eyes just as she came close to catching up. I could just barely feel a few droplets of water hit my back from the splash she was too far to make.

"You're gonna eat your words, Bible Boy." She promised. I turned around to laugh at her, but when I did she wasn't there. Before I could turn back around fully, I felt her fingers suddenly gripping my ankle. I only had time to let out a brief grunt-like yell before I fell face forwards.

Twisting out of her grip underwater, I pushed myself a little lower into the pool and grinned as I saw her follow me. Her hair was fanning out behind her, her face lit with a determined grin.

She reached me and we locked eyes for a moment, both of us looking pretty gleeful, when she suddenly grabbed my arms and planted a kiss on me.

Smiling into the kiss, my hands went to her back and our legs continued kicking to keep us from drifting to the bottom of the pool.

Honestly, this was my first underwater kiss. It was kind of hot, in a cheesy chick flick kind of way. Needing air desperately, I tore my lips from hers but grabbed her hand to tow her with me as I fought to breach the water.

Bobbing above the surface for a few minutes as I tried to catch my breath, I glanced at the girl beside me who had on a look that I've seen on very many girls on very many occasions. Seizing my jaw, she crushed against me again.

I returned with fervour, letting my hand glide up the length of her body before stopping at her breasts. I rubbed her nipple casually as my tongue slipped between her lips.

Instead of protesting with the '_Tristan!'_ I half-expected, Rory wrapped her legs around my waist as my back collided roughly with the side of the pool.

My free arm was gripping the ledge rather forcefully; that arm was the only thing keeping the two of us above water. Rory's hands were gliding up and down my chest, rubbing against my nipples in the same sensual way I had been doing with hers. Dropping her legs from my waist just as abruptly as she put them there, her hands clung to the ledge as she started grinding against me. My hand fell to her ass, pushing her ever closer to me, desperate to feel more of the pleasure she was inducing.

She kissed my throat just as I roughly flipped our positions and fucked her hard against the pool wall.

As I breathed heavily with my face between her breasts and a cocky smile on my face, I said, "Just for the record; you were the one who made the innocent skinny dipping turn into sex in the pool."

Slamming my shoulders against the pool wall and wrapping her arms around my neck, Rory answered, "I know." Without warning, she lowered herself into me, making my head explode with satisfaction.

Afterwards, we swam a couple more laps around the pool before deciding to leave. Our skin was pruning up and she was getting cold.

I helped her out and then we grabbed towels from a pre-stocked shelf against the wall. I wrapped the towel around her securely and we dried off, murmuring casually. After we were relatively dry, we soon realized a pressing problem I hadn't thought of before.

"Tristan, all my clothes are soaking."

"I hadn't been counting on your over-eagerness." I said, my lip quirking up.

She pushed me lightly. "Ha ha."

I looked around the area, trying to think. An idea popped into my head. I grinned. "We can share."

Rory raised her eyebrows at me in disbelief as I held up my white Chilton shirt.

Ten minutes later, I had on my jacket (unzipped because, seriously, when do I not enjoy showing off my killer stomach?) and my pants; Rory was wearing my dress shirt which luckily was quite baggy on her and reached almost to her knees, and my boxers.

"We're not actually gonna go _out_ like this, are we?" Rory snorted.

"Why not?" I cocked my head, smiling.

"You know what, you're right. Who cares what people think." She nodded decisively.

Looks like my influence really is making headway. Needless to say, I felt rather triumphant when we left the school.


	8. House & Home Pt 1

**AN: **I haven't updated anything for awhile 'cause I've just been having way too much with real life lately ahah. I'll try to be better, since I love Tristan with the passion of a thousand suns :P

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_**7. House & Home pt. 1: ** Model Boats and a Daddy Cameo_

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Because I'm me, I have to say that Rory looked very hot in my clothes. We were standing in line at a Little Caesars waiting for our pizzas (yes, as in plural- one medium for each of us), and she was putting her weight on her left side as she stood languidly. It had taken a little cajoling for her to go into a public place wearing what she was wearing, but the lure of pizza made her cave.

I was trying not to dwell too much about her hotness, but it was hard. I've always had a thing, a very big thing, for girls wearing my clothing, especially my boxers. It's something about the idea of her bare cunt touching the fabric that touches my bare cock.

She was glancing around the small area, her eyes finally resting on something to the side of me. A tiny frown worked its way onto her lips and I turned, curious. Two girls were sharing a bag of crazy bread at a table and both of their heads quickly spun around in a way that had me sure they had been staring at us. I wondered if they were just amused by our outfits or if they were checking me out. One of the girls casually looked up at me, meeting my interested expression with a flirtatious smile that confirmed what their motive had been.

I smiled back 'cause it was the friendly thing to do and gave a polite head nod before turning back to Rory. She still had that small frown on her face and the amusing thought that she could be jealous or even possessive flitted through my mind. I was a bit tempted to wander over to the girls and talk to them, just to see what Rory would do. That would, of course, be very insensitive and the entertainment I'd glean from the act would be way less than the stuff I'd have to do to quell Rory's inevitable annoyance.

"What's wrong?" I asked. After all, it was conceivable she was frowning for another reason.

"Every time I look over there, those girls are looking you up and down like you're a piece of meat," Rory said lowly, her voice coated with irritation.

"Feeling a little possessive, Mary?" I teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Hardly." Her denial was a bluff and it seemed almost like a dare to me. And I do always insist on playing devil's advocate. It's on now.

I shrugged one of my shoulders. "All right then." Turning around, I looked at the girls again and grinned at them before walking over. "Ladies."

The girl who had smiled at me earlier glanced at my torso, which was still mainly exposed since I still hadn't bothered to do up my jacket, before meeting my eyes again.

"Hi." Oh, the two of them really did look pleased that I had come over.

"My friend over there seems to think that you're looking at me like I'm meat." I cheerfully said loud enough so Rory could hear, "And I couldn't help but wonder if you-"

"Tristan!" Rory hissed.

I really should stop indulging myself like this. I smirked, winked at the girls, and strode back to Rory. The girls let out a startled giggle behind me and I could picture without looking their heads bent towards each other as they blushingly whispered about me.

"What? You said you weren't possessive."

"I can't believe you just flirted with random girls right in front of me!" Rory was more than irritated now. "And you-you called me your _friend!"_

My hand fell to her waist and easily pulled her close to me, my thumb drawing a small circle, and I kissed her lightly on the lips. "Honey, _you're_ wearing my boxers. _You're_ wearing my shirt. _You're_ the one I had sex in a pool with less than an hour ago. You seriously have no reason to get huffy if they happen to look at me when you're the only one that I want touching me." I whispered all this in her ear. Pulling back with a grin, I added, "Of course, I really wouldn't mind seeing you get all jealous and 'he's _my_ man, bitch!'"

"Are you, though?" Rory wasn't completely pacified and she looked at me searchingly. "You referred to me as-"

"I don't exactly sleep with all my friends, Mar." I interrupted her with an easy chuckle.

I didn't move my arm from around her waist even as we ordered and waited for our food.

"Are we exclusive?" Her voice was so unsure; it was almost timid.

"As much of a whore as you think I am, I haven't touched anyone but you since that night and I really don't intend to for the duration of our little quasi-dating tryst." I answered, amused again. She really did seem to think I only ever thought about my cock.

"Just checking." She smiled. She glanced at the girls at the table again before placing her hand on my bare chest and kissing me open-mouthed. Marking her territory, I liked it.

We spent the car ride stuffing pizza in our mouths. Because we are special children like that, every now and then we'd try to steal slices from each other's boxes even though we had the exact same kind and amount. It was actually really entertaining, though Rory did slap my hand back and elbow me, which just about induced a car accident.

I also smeared pizza sauce over my leather interior seat lining and all over my face… I tried to take a massive bite out of a piece in her hand and she jerked it away- it flew out of her hand and onto the seat. After I finally filched one successfully, she tried to rip the whole box of my pizza out of my lap which caused two slices to slap against the window.

Suffice it to say that I'm going to have to thoroughly clean my car out after Rory leaves.

Anyways, we ended up back at my house. Rory was chattering on about not having paid too much attention last time she was there and she wanted to see it properly. So I ended up giving her the grand tour, grinning in amusement at her obvious awe of the place. My house was a bit bigger than her grandparent's house and noticeably more ornate; my parents liked their little flourishes, what can I say.

Plopping down against the suede couch, Rory looked around for a moment before breaking out into a grin. She took my hand and pulled me down beside her. "You have ungodly comfortable furniture."

I grinned back and casually leaned over top of her, pressing her into the cushion. "You think?" Sliding my hand over her calf, I kissed her teasingly. She smiled into the kiss and flitted her tongue out to brush against mine, her hands gripping the collar of my jacket. She shifted her legs so I could move closer to her and I tangled my fingers in her hair, losing myself to her taste.

My hand dipped under the shirt of mine she was wearing and caressed her back before gliding down to cup her ass. Rory had now taken to rubbing her leg against my side…and sliding her foot lightly between my legs. I captured her lower lip between my own lips and sucked softly, liking the low moan this usually caused.

Ten minutes of making out later, my ears picked up the slight rumble that signified the front garage door opening. I had learned to hone my radar for these things- it's kind of hard to promise 'don't worry, we won't get caught' without it. Damn though, I wasn't in the mood to see whichever flustered adult walk in on us. I assumed it was a driver or something to that effect, an employee. My parents weren't supposed to get in for a few days and they were always late, if anything.

Pulling back from Rory, I said, "Hey, let's go back to my room, okay? There are probably random staff around here."

She made some dissatisfied noise and bit my lip teasingly. "Oh, all right." Reluctantly, her hand trailed out from under my shirt and she sat up. Easily taking her hand, I lead her upstairs to my room.

"Your room has nothing in it." The girl stated, almost offended.

"What are you talking about? I have a stereo, a play station, a whole shelf of games, a TV and DVD player with an entire wall of movies…"

"Those are all stupid technical appliance-like things. Where are the posters? The random knick knacks? The kiddy pictures? The odd toy-paper weight- thing that your grandparents gave you when you were ten? Come on… this is so…metallic." Rory waved her arms around, staring at the black walls with disapproval.

I shrugged. It was functional.

"And it's so clean… I'd have thought you'd be a total slob."

"Oh, I am. But we have maids."

"I'm going to cart over a trunk full of stuff and we're making this room more you sometime. I mean, you walk in and you think 'oh, random rich guy', not 'oh, Tristan Dugrey'."

"Okay." I grinned. She was so animated about everything, I liked it quite a lot.

"You know what? Before this week is up, we're throwing creativity in here. What movies do you like? Or music? You NEED posters. And I'm going to have to dig through your childhood stuff and find some memorable things to inject nostalgia and history here…"

"I don't know, we don't really hold on to stuff like that. I don't think I have any childhood stuff."

Rory looked absolutely affronted at that. "Fine, you can borrow some of MY stuff then… No finger paintings? Old teddy bears? Model cars?"

"I have some model ships," I offered. Scanning the room, I zeroed in on a bottom drawer near my TV. There lay my best model boats, all neatly tucked away. I beckoned to her and she kneeled beside me excitedly.

"Wow…"

I half shrugged, slightly embarrassed by my fleet. "I was kind of obsessed with ships growing up."

Fingering them lightly, Rory told me we had to take my favourite ones out and hang them from the ceiling and dock them across my desk when we re-did my room.

She really seemed to dig the fact that I was a wanna-be sailor. "If you like those, you'll really get a kick outta this…" I shovelled through my closet to uncover the tiny photo album of the scarce pictures actually taken of me as a kid. I showed her a photo of me on my dad's yacht, wearing a sailor outfit and at the wheel. I had been eleven.

"You were sooo cute!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh my God, is that thing all the photos you have?"

"…Maybe?"

"THIS IS MADNESS. I'm gonna start bringing my camera to everything we do. You must have more pictures! Do you have a camera? You must have one. Find it, charge it, and be prepared to have every angle of you documented."

"You know, you're really cute." I smiled, putting my arm around her shoulders. She grinned back and nestled against my chest. "And have I told you yet how completely sexy you look in my clothes?"

Rory stood up slowly, her smile growing. "You like it?" She smoothed down my shirt and fiddled with the edge of the boxers.

"You have no idea."

A mischievous glint popped into her eyes, an occurrence that was happening with greater frequency of late. Taking out her pony tail, she shook her hair out and spun around slowly. Trailing her fingers lingeringly upwards from her waist to the collar, she undid the first button.

Feeling a rumble of desire in my stomach, I stepped forward to touch her but she held me off. "Nu uh uh, Dugrey." She loosed another button.

I groaned. "Rory, come onnnn if you're gonna undress, PLEASE let me help you."

She leaned in really close to me and ran her hand down my chest. "But this is so much more entertaining." Rory traced circles around her own collar bone and I suddenly realized she wasn't wearing a bra. "Are you staring at my chest?"

"Yes." I said bluntly and admittedly a little breathlessly.

Lowering herself onto my lap, she adjusted my chin up. "My face is up here." And that did it. My hands slid under her shirt and I kissed her hard. Picking her up, I deposited her on my bed and let my hand go under the boxers. Burying my face in between her still partially concealed breasts, I rubbed her clit with my palm. Her fingers sifted through my hair and she moved my face level to hers so she could stick her tongue down my throat. She shifted to my neck, her hands gliding under my coat to rest over my pecs.

As I pressed harder against her, she bit down on my skin.

"Do you want me to put my fingers in?"

"Don't change what you're doing, please?" Rory swallowed. Her whole body was tensed up and I wanted to relieve that tension. We rolled onto our sides as we continued pressing our lips against each other; it became clear that we weren't stopping anytime soon.

Surprising me, Rory cupped my jeans and unzipped the fly. She stroked me with a forwardness that I thought rather uncharacteristic. Mutual heavy petting. This was a first…

And then a sharp knock on my door and a "Tristan, I just wanted to-" interrupted everything.

We jumped back from each other and my dad stood at the door looking completely appalled. Oh, Christ. Seriously?!

I snatched a pillow to cover my exposed hard on and used myself as a human shield to block Rory from view. "Dad, do you MIND?"

"Your great aunt died. She wrote you out of her will- every other related minor in the family received something but she apparently strongly detested you. That's why we came home early. Funeral's in two weeks." He looked bored and distasteful at the same time. Glancing at Rory and back at me, he continued, "And could you go to the girl's place next time? If this had been your mother who walked in, we would have had another hysterical spat on our hands. At the very least, lock the damn door."

He shut the door firmly behind him and I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry." I shook off the annoyance at my father easily. There was a partially rumpled girl on my bed, what can I say? "Where were we?" I smirked, reaching down to her pussy again.

"Tristan, you can't seriously still be in the mood. Your dad just walked in on us!" Rory pushed my hand away and turned to face the wall, her hands shaking as she did her buttons up.

"Oh, come on." I moved her hair to the side and kissed her neck. "It's no big deal."

"I feel so slutty now. That was mortifying."

"Mary, please." I said, impatient. My hand slid around to cup her breast.

"I said stop it!" Rory snapped, elbowing me sharply.

"God fucking damn it. I was pretty damn close, you know." I clenched my jaw.

"I don't care!"

Standing up angrily, I stalked to my bathroom and slammed the door, yanked down my pants, and rubbed myself. Goddamn Mary.

When I came out, Rory was sitting on my bed with her arms crossed. "Were you just jacking off to me?" Her tone wasn't amused.

"Yeah?"

"That's disgusting, you know."

"It's also hardly the first time."

"Ew!"

I raised my eyebrows in amusement. "If you were wondering, you just made me cum by wearing exactly what you're wearing and strip teasing for me."

"If you were wondering, I really don't like how impatient you sounded when I didn't want to do anything."

"I'm sorry, I'm not patient when I'm that horny, okay?" She looked sulky still. I sat beside her and again wrapped my arm around her waist. "Listen, it's not like I'd ever force you to do anything. Ever."

"I know." She sighed. "…And your dad creeps me out."

I smiled and kissed her lightly. "Can I help you forget about that?"

"Just lock the door, okay?" Rory rolled her eyes.

"We'll just be kissing," I shrugged.

"Really? You're okay with that?"

"Kissing's fun, man." She beamed and wrapped her arms around my neck, easing into the bed happily.

I looked in the mirror later and counted four hickeys across my neck, jaw, chest, and arm. And I swear I made her wet as hell without going anywhere near that region.

"And Tristan?" She said as she got out of my car, "I'll consider that strip tease thing if you dress up in a sailor suit for me." Winking at my salivation, she sauntered home.


	9. House & Home Pt II

**AN: **The story's officially too long to upload all together on to the document uploader haha (I have all the chapters saved in one document and just delete the earlier ones when I put new chapters up). Thank you all for reading, it's a lot of fun to write :)

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**_8 House & Home Pt II:_ **_Mother, Dearest And Financial Insecurities_

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I felt like my brain was going to shrivel up. I had just spent the last fifteen minutes getting glared at by my father while my mother stared at me with an expression of vacant confusion.

They wanted an explanation of just why my late and oh-so-great aunt hated me so very much. My dad and I were having our standard wordless conversation involving a series of eye-narrowing and lip twitching.

Sighing, he inclined his head slightly in the direction of where my mother was sitting and arched an eyebrow expectantly. _Is it appropriate?_

I smirked and half-shrugged. _What do you think?_

My father's eyes darkened; a silent warning.

I minutely jerked my head to the side and back with a bored curtness. _Fine. Of course not._

Clearing his throat, he turned to my mother who was looking at the two of us with open puzzlement. "I'll talk to him myself."

"But why?"

"I can handle this. There's no sense in both of us wasting our time with this matter."

Accepting the explanation, my mother's face melted into complacency. She was already standing up as she said, "I could be the one to do the disciplining sometime. I feel as though you have been a bit more involved than I have been."

This was such an understatement, I wanted to snort. I didn't, of course.

"You pull your weight just fine." My father smiled tightly.

"You listen to what your father has to say, young man." She told me with what I'm sure she thought was authority. Did she just honestly call me young man? Seriously…

"I will." I said politely.

In a moment, we heard the quiet click that signalled that she had exited and closed the door behind her.

Both my father and I leaned back, our faces melting instantaneously into the expressions we had reigned in for her benefit. Ugly anger in his case, defiant indifference in mine.

"What'd you do, you stupid little shit?"

I suppose a little explanation is desired at this point. For him as well, but that isn't what I'm talking about obviously. My father and I have a policy where we mutually shield my mother from the pointy edges of my dalliances. She's excessively delicate- a china doll; a vapid mannequin who deals well only with the superficial. So we preserve for her the little rose-tinted world she occupies. It would irreparably shatter her if she knew all the ugly truths in this family. As a result, even her husband and son lie to her with polite masks. I can't be myself in front of my own mother.

You may think that this means I hold a deep caring affection for the woman since I handle her so cautiously. You'd be wrong. I don't do what I do out of fear of hurting her. I despise my mother with every fibre of my being. She's insufferably weak and it frustrates me more than anything else in my life. I could never respect someone like her- absorbed in perfection that doesn't exist, afraid of the darker sides of reality. The only reason I protect her with my father is because my family has a very precarious balance. If I tipped her over the edge, the dynamic would be crushed and chaos would result. She'd probably end up having a total break down, castrating the DuGrey name in the process. Can you imagine the monstrous PR needed to fix the debacle?

Not to mention the fact that in the event of a divorce, a monetary apocalypse would occur. When the two married, my dad had been intensely in love with my mother (and frankly, still is. How, I do not know). Obviously, he's a DuGrey and we have a legacy of wealth and prosperity for generations back. Pre-nups are standard fare and there was no chance in hell my grandfather Janlan would have let his son be the exception. But like I said, my dad loved my mother deeply and secretly changed the terms of the standard ironclad DuGrey pre-nup- in the event of a divorce, both parties would take away what they brought into the marriage but my mother would receive 45 of anything made during the marriage ('it'd be rightfully hers' he had said).

Again, my father's still in love with my mother and from what I can tell, she feels the same so I'm not saying that the only reason they're together is because my dad doesn't want to lose money. …Though personally, that'd be the only reason I'd stay with her.

All right. Expositional back story is done for now.

Let's get back to where my dad was asking what his shit of a son had done now.

"Great Aunt Caroline was a coordinator at her granddaughter's Debutante Ball last year. She couldn't find four of the girls. She located them when there was only eight minutes left until it began- they were with me, screwing in a dressing room."

My dad shut his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"Oh, did I mention that her granddaughter, good ol' cousin Sheryl, was with her when she saw me with four naked girls from her class? And that I was at the ball to begin with because you forced me to do a family favour and escort Cousin Sheryl's ugly, bitchy best friend?"

Oh, he looked pissed now.

"Sheryl's friend had been tagging along because Sheryl was the only one catty enough to be able to tolerate her and when she saw me there she exploded. So there was a full-blown tantrum/breakdown, which resulted in Sheryl totally pitching a fit. There was a massive catfight and all six girls had to make their debuts with ruined makeup and hair. It was, so I've heard, the single most catastrophic Debutante Ball held in known memory. Caused quite the scandal. I naturally slipped away when the girls started attacking each other- so the reason why you hadn't heard of my involvement before is because it was only reported that 'one of the girl's escorts had been involved'. I wasn't named. Great Aunt Carol and Cousin Sheryl were socially blacklisted." I was probably much too amused at this but, man… that had been a _wickedly _funny night.

"Are you quite finished?" My father hissed. He was turning purple.

"Yep." I grinned.

"So help me God, if I hear of one more incident where you step so much as one toe out of line, I am sending you to military school."

"I'll be good, pops. I swear." I pouted sarcastically.

"I mean, honestly. The car in the school prank was ridiculously inane, pathetically executed, and a deliberate attention-seeking act. And now I'm forced to hear yet another exploit in your sexual deviancy. I don't know why you enjoy being the dirty black sheep of the family but if you sully the DuGrey name, your Great Aunt won't be the only one whose will you have been written out of."

"Dad. I'm careful. There won't be any sullying." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not playing. Your ass will be in military school the day after you pull another stunt."

I stood up and carelessly waved my hand. "Yeah, I heard you the first time. If we're done here, I have a bad ass reputation to uphold. I think I'm going to burn down some buildings today, maybe have an orgy with a group of midgets in the mud." I sauntered to the door.

"And I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. Oh, and it should go without saying that I'll be cutting off your credit and debit cards." My father said casually to my back.

I stopped in my tracks. "Dad!"

He smiled kindly. "Yes, dear son?"

"You can't do that! I need that money!"

"You mean my money. No, you've been spoiled enough. It seems like money is the only thing you show any affection for. It's certainly the only thing you respect. Having unlimited funds has cultivated your irresponsibility. Look at yourself; you look like you've just been told that your mother's been held for ransom."

"Don't fool yourself. This is much, much worse." I said acidly as I stomped out the door. I made sure to childishly slam the door hard enough to shake the house.

"Are you okay?" a concerned voice asked to my left.

I looked up and half smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine. See ya, Mary."

Fuckity fuck fuck fuckkk.

He wouldn't actually cut me off, would he? I'm his _son._ His firstborn. His heir!

_Insufficient funds _

NO. I have honestly never seen that phrase greet me from a bank machine before.

"_I'm sorry, sir, there seems to be something wrong with your credit card." _

I was panicking. Full-out panicking. I had 50 in my pocket and that was it. THAT WAS IT.

xXx

I shut my eyes and tried to steady my breathing as I rang the doorbell in front of me. Rory had invited me to her place since her mom would be at work and it was only fair. Her whole town was quaint but I felt a surge of affection for her house. It was so small-town-ish and cozy.

She grinned as she saw me and gave me a hug. I managed to smile back but the knowledge that I was poor was still crippling me. My dad was a stubborn jack ass- I wouldn't put it past him to keep me cut off for weeks, months even. What would I do? Okay, so obviously I still have cooks so I wouldn't starve. But what about when school started again? Was I supposed to… oh, God… PACK my lunch? And what about gas money?

"Tristan, are you okay?"

I shook away my frantic thoughts and realized that I was sitting on a couch and Rory was curled beside me.

"I'm fine." I reassured. But she leaned in to kiss me and I just wasn't feeling it. I shoved away the thoughts again and tried to just focus on her, but it wasn't working very well.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I told you."

She was frowning now. Shaking her head, she muttered 'fine' and shifted away from me.

After a moment of silence, she blurted, "It's my house, isn't it? I know it's small enough to fit into your garage, but I've lived in worse and I love my home. And maybe you thought I was rich like you because I'm a Gilmore, but I thought it was common Hartford societal gossip that my mom ran away from home when she was pregnant with me and has been making her way independently ever since. So I'm not rich even though my grandparents are and you have your stupid shiny car and your mansion of a house and I'm sorry if this isn't good enough for you…"

"Rory, I've never even thought about your financial situation. I think your house is sweet, I couldn't care less that you don't have a lot of money, I respect your mom a whole lot for having the balls to escape from the tyranny of Hartford's elite, and the reason I'm distracted right now has nothing to do with you." I laughed. "Seriously, how much of a dick do you think I am?"

Rory looked away. "Well then why won't you trust me enough to tell me what's on your mind?"

"I just don't want to talk about it, okay?"

She stared at me. "You're really not okay right now and it kind of hurts that you can joke with me and mess around with me but you can't give me anything real."

I sighed, exasperated. "My dad cut me off and at the moment I'm pretty much broke and it's stressing me the fuck out, okay?"

She took my hand. "I'm sorry."

I glanced at her concerned face and clenched my jaw, "Maybe I don't tell you anything real because I don't think you'll really care. No one cares about real. It's all this sham of politeness. I've stopped talking to people about my problems a long time ago."

"We're not all fair-weather friends, Tristan."

"They are in my world." I pulled my hand away. "They're around because I'm a DuGrey. And now I'm poor for what could be a while."

"Well-"

"So don't even bother making up an excuse. If you don't want to stick around any more, fine. I'm expecting it."

"Tristan, what are you talking about?" She looked genuinely confused.

"I can't bribe ride operators to run a theme park at 2AM for you any more. I can't buy any more keys to sneak us into buildings. Hell, I probably can't even afford gas to drive you anywhere."

"And your point is?" Rory rolled her eyes. "I want you, not all the crap you can do for me."

"So you still want to be with me even though I can't buy you anything shiny?"

"Of course, you idiot." She laughed.

"I am so unbelievably glad you're not like anyone else I've ever known." I sighed, wrapping my arm around the girl warmly.

As we made out, Rory's hand snatching the front of my shirt, the brunette said to me rather cheekily, "And Tristan, the guys may hang around you for your money but most of the girls? They're around because you're unfairly good looking."

I laughed hard at that. "I don't know if I'm supposed to take that as a compliment, but it's good to know you've finally admitted that I am a sexy motherfucker." Stroking her shoulder absently, I had to ask, "Though it begs the question- are you hanging around me just 'cause I'm a pretty face?"

"Are _you_?"

"Oh nuh uh, I've complimented you enough lately. Your turn to stoke my ego." I smirked.

She jokingly pushed my face away. "You really are an insufferable peacock."

"Sing my praises?"

"You're annoyingly charming, surprisingly smart, incredibly funny, and aside from your pretty face you also have a stupidly nice body." Rory relented, playing with my fingers as she spoke. "Of course, you also have a weird superiority complex that exists solely to cover up what seems like a den of insecurities." My cocky smirk died. She met my eyes searchingly, "You have really serious trust issues don't you? You've been used a lot."

"Don't go psycho-analyzing me now, Gilmore." I flicked her nose. "Or you'll have yourself convinced that I'm this misunderstood, tortured soul. Which, you know, go right ahead and assume that if it turns you on, but I really _am_ this arrogant and self-centred. And yeah, maybe I don't have much faith in the good intentions of others, and yeah I'm rich and have been played when I was younger but that's exactly why I've learned to master the game."

"Well, don't play me, okay?" She looked so vulnerable when she said this; I had to hold her tighter.

"Mary, this isn't a game for me. I don't know how many times I'll have to say it before you believe me, but it's really not."

"I guess we'll both just have to learn to trust each other."

"I think I already have."

"Me too." She whispered. "And that really scares me."

I took both of Rory's hands in mine and kissed them. "Babe, I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise."

"And I'm not gonna use you, I promise." She grinned. "So stop feeling like you have to be flippant all the time. Because I'm not 'people'. I do care about real."

I kissed her softly and followed her as she showed me around her house.

As clichéd as it would be to say that I liked her house more than mine because of the little personal effects (cold rich family VS warm middle-class family stereotypes, anyone?), it'd be the truth. Every inch of Rory's house was welcoming.

Walking into her room, I understood just why she had been so offended with my room. The walls themselves were singing '_this is Rory Gilmore's room'._ For Chrissake, she had a bulletin board crammed with Harvard memorabilia!

I think my jaw actually dropped as I scanned the surroundings.

"You are definitely granted permission to redecorate my room," I chuckled.

She looked pleased. Slipping her hand around mine again, she gave me a sweet peck on the lips and swung our arms back and forth cheerfully. We were doing the whole staring-at-each-other-adoringly thing when her eyes widened. "Oh! Speaking of that-" Spinning around, she reached for a bag on her desk and fished out a camera. "This is day one of cataloguing Tristan DuGrey in photographs." Before I could react, she had taken a picture.

Rory grinningly backed away to take another shot so I made an exaggerated pout at the camera. Recognizing that she was going to be entertained by this for a while, I grinned and threw myself into making random faces.

I was actually quite the camera whore. It's just that most of the pictures taken of me aren't done using my camera and certainly not by my family. You can bet your ass there are a good thousand pictures of me from parties and things scattered across Hartford and the internet. A girl I knew had actually videotaped me being tied up in chains while three girls did body shots on me…what? I get drunk a lot. And that was one hell of a night.

After Rory took what felt like a good two dozen pictures, I stepped forward and swung my arm around her, stealing the camera with my other hand. "I really don't mind if you seriously want to bludgeon me with pictures, but honey, there's no point if you're not in them with me." I snapped a picture as I kissed her cheek.

The next half hour consisted of us being ridiculously camera whore-y. I'm pretty sure we contorted our faces into every possible expression we could physically make. She also decided to randomly jump on my back at one point and so we took several shots of that.

"You know what? This isn't a real catalogue of you, not yet."

"Oh? And what would constitute a real catalogue, lovely photographer?"

"You're going to need to take off your shirt." She grinned teasingly.

I wolf whistled. "Taking advantage of the model, are we?"

"Hey, I didn't say anything about your pants." She laughed. "This is strictly professional."

Smiling, I took off my shirt and gamely posed some more for the camera.

"Flex for the camera, DuGrey," Rory encouraged.

Smirking, I complied. "Careful, my sexiness may just break your lens."

She reached over to feel my arm and seemed adequately impressed with them. "Not bad there." Smiling slightly, her fingers released my bicep and trailed down my arm, then back up. "You have really nice arms."

Encircling said arms around her waist, I pressed my lips against hers playfully and we fell into her bed.

"You know, it's only fair for you to take your shirt off too. I feel so…exposed." I mock complained.

"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Rory chuckled. I moved my hands down her body and unzipped her hoodie before sliding up the shirt she had on underneath. The girl stopped my hand and pulled away from my mouth. "You aren't getting pictures of me without my clothes on, Tristan."

"You're no fun." I whined.

An evil smirk made its way onto my face as I got an idea. I retracted my hand from under her shirt and slipped it over her chest instead. My hand went under the material of her shirt from the opposite direction and I stroked her breast. I breathed into her ear, "Who said clothes had to come off?"

I watched as she closed her eyes… then I quickly retracted my hand and squeezed her breast over her hoodie- and snapped a photo of me doing so.

"Tristan!" She elbowed me.

"Oh come on- like it'd be a very honest documentation of me if there wasn't at least one photo of a boob grab."

She still looked annoyed so I leaned closer to her and casually slipped my hand down her pants and rubbed absently, "Why so serious? It's your camera. It's not like any one will ever see it if you don't want them to."

"Stop trying to seduce me." She said with a straight face. I burst out laughing and fell back against her bed.

"Are you ever gonna try and seduce _me_?" I asked.

"Are you telling me I have to try?" She responded archly. I let out an incredulous snort. I really was a bad influence. She joined my laughter and shook her head. "I suck at the whole being sexy thing."

I looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before crushing my lips against hers deeply. I slipped my fingers around both her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. Pulling back breathlessly, I said, "I could be all dominant and fuck you hard against your childhood bed." Leaning in so our lips touched when I spoke, I continued, "But I think you need to be shown that you can be the sexy dominant one."

"Have you met me?" Rory shook her head.

"Have you seen you?" I responded huskily. "Go on, give it a try. It's okay."

Staring at me for a moment, she suddenly sat up, ripped her wrists from my grip, and slammed me against the wall the bed was against. Pushing me down against the mattress, she climbed on top of me and swooped down to kiss me, her hair brushing against my cheeks as she did so. Halfway through the kiss, she burst into a fit of laughter.

Leaning her forehead against my chest as she continued straddling me, she couldn't make out words she was laughing so hard. I held her waist and waited in amusement for her to regain control.

"Sorry. But that was ridiculous."

"And painful." I added, glancing at the wall.

She burst into laughter again, "Sorry!"

"We should try dirty talk." I suggested evilly.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I want to run my tongue down your sweating chest and feel your thing pulsate in my hand."

"That actually would've been pretty hot if you hadn't called it a 'thing'." I told her, amused.

"Too bad for you then."

"Come on, didn't you ever play the Penis game?"

"You mean that ridiculous game where the person who shouts that the loudest wins? No, I didn't."

"Well, I could always go into how I want to slide my tongue in between your breasts and pump my fingers into your clit until you cum all over my hand."

She turned red and rolled off of me. "Seriously, Tristan."

"Well I do." I shrugged, undoing the button to her jeans.

Her breathing hitched as I pulled down the zipper and started sliding down her body.

"Tristan, I don't know if we should. Here."

"What's wrong with here?"

"We've never done it in a bed before." She swallowed as I started tugging her pants off.

"And-?"

I kissed her thighs and dragged her underwear down.

"I just… it's silly."

I paused what I was doing and looked at her. I moved back up to be level with her face and brushed our noses together. "No, what is it?"

"I was thinking that maybe the first time we do it in a bed, it should… it could be special." She wasn't meeting my eyes. "I know it sounds ridiculous since we've already slept together, but…well, I don't know."

"Okay." I smiled, kissing her affectionately before sliding back down her body. "But as you've already told me before, you don't have to have sex to do things."

Watching her watch me, I kissed her cunt and slipped my tongue between the fold of skin. I slipped my hands under her to cup her ass and smiled as she sighed my name; her fingers tangling in my hair.


	10. A Night In The Woods

**AN: **Thanks for reading, thanks for reviewing :). It's very flattering and helpful, hope you like this segment.

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_**10. A Night In The Woods:** Beware Of Zombie Rapists!_

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"_Get out get out get out get out! Go go go go go go!" _

I was getting pushed towards the window and distracted by the haze of hysteria in the atmosphere, barely managing not to fall over my own feet.

"Talk to you soon," I gasped out.

"Of course!" She answered absent-mindedly, eyes darting around the room ensuring nothing was too askew.

"See you soon?"

"As soon as humanly possible, Tristan." Her eyes bore into the door of her room as her hands insistently pressed against me but she managed a quick, indulgent smile my way.

I yanked at the window and Rory threw herself towards her radio. I was halfway out of her house with the off beat warbling of some chick singer chasing my ears when Rory whispered anxiously for me to wait.

I almost slammed my jaw into her window sill trying to comply. "Ror, you're the one rushing me out-"

Her fingertips brushing the back of my neck, Rory repeated, "Wait." And with a bright grin, she pressed her lips wetly against mine enthusiastically.

"Mm. Good bye to you too." I smiled.

"I'll call you tonight." She promised, remembering the gravity of the situation as she glanced at her door again. I understood that I was expected to continue my task of falling out the window so I finished jumping out- but I couldn't help myself; I leaned in and kissed her again.

She laughed and returned the kiss briefly, "You have to go!"

"Damn you're gorgeous when you're like this."

Muttering under her breath, she chuckled again and gave in to giving me another kiss.

"_Kid, I'm home…"_

"Shoot!" She choked as I swore shit. Flinging her arms out, Rory shoved me backwards, shut the window, and jumped out of my view.

I landed somewhat painfully on my back against solid ground but had the sense to scoot up and crawl away from the view of the window. I didn't pay much attention to the vague conversation from Rory's bedroom, only noting that Rory managed to camouflage her breathlessness well.

Taking a deep gulp of air, I tried to hide between bushes and other obstructions as I ran as fast as I could out of the Danger Zone trifecta of Rory's mom and the two gossiping neighbours that Rory had warned me about. Once I was semi-sure I was out of their line of vision, I slowed my speed, straightened my clothes and slipped easily back to calm normalcy as I walked the rest of the block to my car. See, Rory hadn't wanted to take chances and was sure that someone would notice if I kept parking my car in front of her house. My suggestion of using different cars each time we went out resulted in a glare.

I couldn't say that was my first time fleeing from a parental entering a girl's bedroom, but even so the panic that always floated with me in such events was mixed with sincere amusement. And then I wondered if she would want me to actually meet her mother at some point. The prospect worried me- most of the time I've met parents, it's been accidental. To have a planned meeting would spell out more seriousness than I really had ever expected. But that was a problem for another day.

Anyways, I was keen on meeting the infamous Lorelai Gilmore. She was exactly the kind of chick I fantasized over- a rich bad ass rebel child who gave a huge fuck you to all of the Hartford elite and went it alone, sacrificing all her birthright money and prestige and throwing her silver platter right back at her parents. She sounded completely kick ass. Not to mention, of course, the fact that she single handedly produced the most interesting, stimulating, amazing daughter in the state.

Of course, seeing as though I'm kind of the embodiment of the stuck-up rich boy, I'm not sure Lorelai would dig me. Considering all the effort she put into protecting Rory from all of that, I wondered if she would really appreciate me dancing with her in all my Dugrey-glory. I'm pretty fucking charming, if I do say so myself, but from what I've heard about her through the Hartford elite, I'm sensing a prejudice in her that'll be hard to beat.

Not that it really matters, I guess. I mean, Rory's close to her mom and her opinion matters to her and all that, but it's not like I'm planning on marrying the girl.

The fact that I was thinking about this at all disturbed me. I shouldn't have spared a thought for the opinion of the parents of whomever I was currently entangled with. I wasn't in a serious relationship and I was dead set on keeping it that way. I refused to let myself turn into a stepford boyfriend. Fuck, I didn't want to be a boyfriend at all.

-

Later that night, I found myself with Rory again. I tended to do this- every time I finally got a girl I was really set on getting with, I lost myself in a sex-induced haze with them, falling away from the rest of the world. For, you know, the two weeks or so it'd take for me to get bored of them. But I had wanted Rory with a craving that I had felt from the tips of my fingers to the tip of…well, my dick. It didn't surprise me that I had lost myself in her.

"You're like a drug." Rory said, surprisingly voicing my thoughts.

I glanced at her while signalling to turn, feeling the corner of my lip twitch up. "If you call me heroin, I'd be more creeped out than flattered."

"Did you just make a Twilight reference?" Her nose scrunched up disapprovingly and I laughed.

"You try being a Sex God without researching shit like that."

"I'm being serious. We've seen each other so much in the last while and somehow, I still want more of it. It's weird."

"It's my semen. It's addictive." I smiled cheerfully. I chuckled at her expression as I pulled over against a nearby curb.

"Sometimes I wonder if you could possibly be more vulgar. And then you prove that there is no rock bottom with you." Rory blanched. She looked around, following my lead in getting out of the car. "What are we doing?"

"I have decreed that tonight shall be hot dog and movie marathon night." I reached for my wallet. "I am a hobo now, after all."

She smiled and put her hand over my wallet-holding hand. "Well, I've always believed in helping out the poverty stricken." Rory dug some change out of her purse and turned to the hot dog vendor beside us. "Two, please. With the works."

"I'd bitch about how I'm far too chivalrous to let a lady pay, but that'd be an outright lie." I grinned, blithely accepting the hot dog she offered me.

"Hey, since I'm shelling out big bucks on this date, I expect you to put out, mister." She wagged her finger at me. Loving the way her eyes danced as she looked at me, I lightly bit the wagging finger.

"Anything for you, baby." The way her eyes suddenly darkened at my words made me rather confident that I was turning her on a little. I kissed her forehead. "Come on, back in the chariot."

We discussed movie choices as we ate, until I parked in the middle of a deserted clearing. She rolled her eyes and rambled about how much gas we just wasted since I insisted on driving pretty far out. I was adamant that the atmosphere be just so.

"Don't we have to stop at a rental store first?"

"Woman, I'm not made of money!" I admonished teasingly. "C'mon." I beckoned her to follow me as I opened the trunk of my SUV. She gasped. I had filled said trunk earlier with every movie I owned that I had enjoyed- in other words, my trunk was like a video store in and of itself. "Ladies choice."

Rory sifted through the pile and held up two movies expectantly. I raised my eyebrows. "Silly, silly Gilmore. Did you think this'd be a normal, short date?"

"I hardly think four hours is short, Tristan."

"Baby, I distinctly remember us talking about having an all night movie marathon. Four hours ain't all night." I bent over my movie collection and snapped up two more.

"You're insane."

"Aren't you used to my antics yet?"

She shook her head playfully, "No, idiot. You're insane if you think we're spending all night only watching YOUR favourite movies. I demand we see at least three of mine as well."

"Rory, we drove all the way out here and you're suggesting we go all the way back?"

"Hey, you should've warned me about this first." She walked back to the passenger's seat. I followed her, honestly blown away that she wanted me to drive all the way back to Stars Hollow.

"Rory, I was kidding about the hobo thing but only a little; it'd cost me like $80 more in gas to-" I shut up when I saw the movies in her hands. "…How the hell did you know to bring those?"

"I always carry Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with me for emergency movie nights. And I stuffed these two in your car after you first told me you hadn't seen them yet." She grinned.

"You're insane." I shook my head, laughing.

We retrieved the blankets and pillows I had also stuffed in the trunk earlier and laid them out on the grass. I set up the lap top and pulled Rory against me. She nestled in front of me and I took the opportunity to rest my chin on her shoulder and kiss her neck.

She squeezed my hand and we turned on movie #1- the obligatory Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

As the movie started, Rory smiled into my chest, "You know, this place is kind of beautiful." I smiled. I was awesome. This was one of my never-fail spots to get a particularly difficult girl to give up her virginity to me. It was a huge cleared grassy area in the middle of a forest. If you wandered a few feet into said forest, you'd find a gorgeous pond and at the edge of the forest there was a waterfall and an honest-to-God castle. You just don't get more fairytale perfect than that. It's also a hell of a long way out, so a girl is not only seduced by the area but delighted you cared enough to travel so far for the perfect place. It's never failed me.

"I'm glad you like it."

"How'd you find this place?"

"Just stumbled upon it. I love going on random adventures, what can I say."

"Thanks for showing it to me."

I only felt a little guilty that I had actually shown this place to at least a dozen girls before her.

Several hours later, we're halfway through Twenty Eight Days Later with both sets of our eyes drooping as twilight crept up on us.

We hadn't spoken much in the past two hours due to fatigue (hey, I had thought enough ahead to bring coffee but who knew a thermos wouldn't keep coffee hot if you drank it nine hours after its original brewing?).

As sluggish as I was, part way through the zombie flick I heard a noise that was most definitely not part of the movie. It sounded like rustling. At this point, I'd like to remind you all that I was running on no sleep and was in the middle of a rather good horror movie. It's not my fault I got nervous. You know, for Rory's sake.

I was creeped out so I whispered to Rory, "Shit. What was that?" She didn't answer so I gently shook her. "Rory. Something's out there."

She shifted in my arms. "What?"

"I heard something." I felt her stiffen.

After a moment of not moving, she whispered back, "I hear it too."

"We're gonna die!" I looked around nervously, kicking myself for choosing this spot now. We were in a field that had trees surrounding it on all sides. I chose a clearing in the middle of a frickin forest in the middle of bumfuck, nowhere. And now some crazy axe-murdering rapist zombie was going to beat us to death and eat us.

"Let's get back to the car." She must be pretty freaked.

"With our luck, it'll be IN the car!" I wasn't panicking. I wasn't.

"Tristan, calm down."

"Baby don't get hysterical."

"Tristan, seriously, calm down."

"I'm calm! We're just about to get zombie-raped, but I'm fine."

"You're squishing my hand, Tris."

I looked down and, embarrassed, let go of the hand in which I had been gripping.

She slipped her hand back into mine, "It's probably just a squirrel-"

What sounded like grunting came from somewhere to the side of us. "-or a dog…"

A garbled screech erupted and it was definitely getting closer to us.

"…or it really is a walking corpse and we're about to die." Rory swallowed, shrinking into me.

"Okay, here's the plan- when we see whatever it is, I'll throw shit at it and tackle it, while you- here, take my keys- run for the car. I'll try to throw it front of the car, and you hit it if you can. If you can't, just fucking drive like hell, I'll try to divert it with something else. If there's just one, do a wide loop, I'll catch up with you; if there are more, don't try to get them- they'll swarm the car and you'll be screwed."

A moment of silence passed and then Rory suddenly called out, "Who's there?"

"Are you fucking crazy?" I hoarsely rasped at her, whipping around and straining my eyes and ears in an attempt to gauge if there was more than one –thing- out there.

Another angry-sounding hiss came out of the trees.

"Who are you?" Rory was not to be deterred.

Finally, a figure came into focus. "WHO AM I? You're trespassing on my land you goddamned teenagers! MY LAND!"

A haggard looking middle-aged man wearing a trench coat and pyjama bottoms came lumbering into view. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU KIDS ARE DOING? It's four o'clock in the bleeding morning and you're parked in the middle of my several acre estate!"

I was so relieved that it wasn't a killer that I laughed. Which was definitely not the thing to do.

"You think this is funny, you little white-collared punk?"

I controlled myself and managed a respectful, chagrined tone. "I'm sorry sir. I was sure this area was deserted. I didn't know this was anywhere near a residential area."

"It isn't! That's the whole reason I moved out here! I chose the most desolute piece of shit land in the state to get away from you goddamn intrusive good-for-nothing morons!"

"Oh my God- do you live in the _castle?_" I was shocked. Dude, I've fucked girls _up against _that thing. In _broad daylight_.

"Why in God's name are you in the middle of nowhere having a-" He squinted at the blanket and pillows- "…picnic for anyways? Is there nowhere else you filthy cockroaches can find to-" Fearing that I'd burst into hysterical laughter if I heard this hillbilly say 'fornicate' or something similar, I cut him off.

"We were just watching movies, sir. Wanted someplace secluded, away from the city. We'll leave now. So sorry to have bothered you at all. Won't trespass again." I nudged Rory and we both hastened to gather our crap and throw it haphazardly into the car.

"You bet your ass you won't come again. I finally caught you! You're the disgusting slime who comes here periodically in the middle of the night, leaving your used condoms for me wake up to, aren't you?"

"Um…" I cleared my throat and avoided eye contact.

"I see you here again, I'll break your knee caps. You get me?"

"Good night, mister." Rory weakly murmured as we drove the hell out of there.

When we were way out of eyeshot of crazy castle man, Rory looked at me and raised her eyebrows. "Some rapist zombie, huh?"

We both exploded into laughter.

"You were so scared." Rory teased me.

"Scared for _you_, my pet." I scoffed.

She rolled her eyes and I laughed again. That died when she voiced her next sentence. "So… is everything you do with me a re-run of something you've done for like fifty billion girls before me?"

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. "Rory, of course not." I looked at her and saw that she was definitely not laughing any more.

"That guy said-"

"It's a nice area. Even though it is pretty damn isolated, I'm not the only guy that knows about it. It looks like a sweet place to do the deed, I'm sure lots of teenagers have found it." I am bull shitting through my teeth. No one else has any fucking idea this place exists. I chose this place specifically because it was my little secret weapon.

"So you didn't just try to pass off your favourite slut sex spot to me as a romantic night out?"

"I promise you, that's not what I did at all." I wasn't lying. It wasn't my favourite slut sex spot. The sluts I can fuck anywhere.

She brightened as she bought my words. I breathed a silent sigh of relief and took her hand to kiss it. "Did you have fun while it lasted?"

"Hey, it's not every day a boy tells you to run for the car while they take on a zombie for you." Rory smiled at me.

I winced. "Can we not tell anybody about that?"

"It was one of the sweetest things anyone's said to me." She grinned. "'Save yourself, Rory! I'll be okay!'"

"I'm embarrassed enough as it is about getting nervous, okay?"

"You weren't nervous. You were scared out of your mind." She chuckled. "And that's why it was so sweet. You genuinely thought we were gonna get hurt and your first thought was to protect me. You actually would put me ahead of yourself."

Hey, if this was making her like me more, power to psycho hermit guy. "You know I'd throw myself in front of rabid murderous corpses for you any day, baby. I'd never let anything happen to you."

She smiled at me again in a way that was almost adoring and instead of feeling smug, or smothered, I found myself smiling at her in the same way.

"Rory, I'm shit tired. I can't drive anymore. Figure we're far enough away from crazy man?"

"He wasn't crazy, you were on his property, you hooligan." She said jokingly. "And I can drive if you want."

"No." I answered too quickly. She frowned. "I'm sorry, Ror, I'm just really fond of my car. I love this car."

"You don't trust me?" She was miffed.

"That isn't it at all. Mary, _no one_ but me has ever been behind the wheel of this baby."

"But it isn't even the nicest of your cars."

"It's actually the least high end of them. But it was my first car ever. I don't trust my own father with it." I explained. "I'd let you drive any of my other cars… Well, maybe not the 'stang."

"I'll never understand what the deal is with guys and cars." Rory sighed.

"It's a milestone! It represents the first taste of independence I ever had. I've worked on this baby myself."

"Really?"

"…well, okay, so I watched the guys at the shop work on it and I change its oil. But I'm trying to say don't take it personally. Besides, you've got to be as exhausted as I am anyways."

"It's not that big of a deal." Rory shrugged, smiling. "I'm not mad, Mr-explanation."

I returned her shrug. "Sorry. I can have a rambling habit when it comes to my cars. But pulling over? Yes?"

"Sure."

We had exited the forest. I pulled up to the side of the high way, half on the grass and half on the concrete, and turned the car off. "Come on." I smiled at Rory, opening my door. We climbed into the backseat and I grabbed the blankets and pillows we had used earlier. "Let's crash."

As tired as I was, I still couldn't help but take my shirt off. She looked at me like I had three heads. "It's more comfortable." I said innocently. I was smirking on the inside when she rested her head on my chest, watching with pleasure as her fingers traced my stomach muscles. I'm a whore. A temptress whore. And I'm far too tired to care that I just referred to myself as a temptress.

Falling asleep shirtless next to your… next to a girl… was a pretty decent method of vastly improving your chances of getting morning sex. That's all I'm saying.

"G'night."

"It's morning, you half-naked man-slut." Rory grinned sleepily.

"You know you love me."

She moved her head to kiss me lingeringly and I let my hand caress her waist and the skin under her shirt.

"Good night." She lifted her arms up and soon I wasn't the only shirtless one in the car. I smirked as the possibility of morning sex clearly jumped up several hours. Like I said, the spot works every time.


	11. Hi, Stars Hollow

**AN: **Yes, I'm still alive haha. To any one who is still reading this story, thanks for sticking it out. I am making an honest effort to update more, I swear. As for anyone who has asked about Tristan's intentions, I guess you'll just have to see ;).

* * *

**_11. Hi, Stars Hollow: _**_Small Town Charm Has Nothing On The DuGrey Charm_

* * *

As I drove Rory home after our little near death experience with the hermit in the castle, a thought occurred to me. "Rory, is your mom oblivious or just ridiculously neglectful?"

"What are you on about?"

"This is like the third time you've been out all night."

"Oh. Well, my mom actually got back together with her boyfriend the day we got together. She's been sleeping over a lot, and I just tell her I'm at Lane's."

We were entering the town limits of Stars Hollow now. It was fast becoming a route I knew by habit. "Who's Lane?"

"You know, the girl who I brought to Madeline's party. My best friend."

"Mmm. I don't believe I've met this girl. Is she all lamb-like and book-reading like you?"

"Her mom's an intensely traditional Korean so she's kind of a rebel actually." Rory smiled. "You'll have to meet her sometime."

"What, the hardcore mother?"

She smacked my arm lightly. "My best friend, you doofus."

"Oh, what's this, you're getting over your phase of being embarrassed to be seen with me are you?"

"You are an eye sore, but it's only fair that Lane gets to meet the person she's been covering for the last two weeks." Rory grinned.

I chuckled. "All right, whatever you deem as the course of action."

"Great. So, turn left here."

"Rory, I know my sexiness incapacitates your ability to think, but your house is straight."

"I know. We're going to Lane's."

I stared at her, startled. "You meant you wanted us to meet _now?"_

"Tristan, we slept in the back of your car for five hours. It's almost ten. You can't drop me off at home without making it very clear that I wasn't coming from Lane's."

"Oh, so you saying you wanted us to meet was just your way of sneakily cajoling me into helping you keep your alibi." I turned left as she indicated.

"Okay, turn right after the stop light and pull up on the curb next to the candy shop. And maybe you have it backwards, maybe I figured having you help me keep my alibi is a convenient way to have you meet my best friend." Rory grinned.

I followed her directions and pulled the car to a stop next to a kitschy candy store. We both got out of the car, and I looked at her expectantly.

"Okay, now we walk a block that way."

I rolled my eyes. "Is it really that conspicuous to actually have me park my car in front of where we're going for once?"

"Yes." She shrugged, laughing. "Everything about you is conspicuous."

I slipped my arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck, "You can't hide the awesomeness."

Rory squirmed out of my grasp with a giggle and looked around to make sure no one was watching us. "Tristan, try to behave."

"Okay, okay. I keep forgetting your whole no-touching-in-Stars-Hollow rule." I held my hands up in apology.

"It's just a really small town and…"

"Nah. I get it. I'm not one to introduce to mom and pop." This wasn't news to me. "And that's fine by me."

"Yeah because it's such an embarrassment being a Dugrey." Rory rolled her eyes. She gestured to the alley beside us and stopped walking. "Um, so like I said, Lane's mom is really strict. So I'll just have her meet us here." She fished out her phone and told her friend to come outside. Once she hung up, she whirled around nervously, "Tristan… I forgot to mention that Lane doesn't know about…how far we've gone and I don't want to just blurt it out-"

"Worried she'll suggest a threesome?"

Rory turned red and laughed incredulously, smacking my arm just as a vaguely familiar looking Asian girl popped up around the corner.

"Hey!" Rory grinned brightly, trying to hide the fact that she was flustered by my comment. "Is my mom home yet?"

"Nope, you're in the clear for her, though it's good you came here first. Babette's taken to early morning gardening." She answered. She then turned to me with an interested grin, "So, this is Tristan-devil-spawn, I take it?"

I raised my eye brows in amusement, "Rory honestly refers to me as the devil spawn?"

"She used to." Lane said knowingly, "But I promise that her names have been more favourable lately."

"Ooh, what has the lady been saying about me?"

"Well, I'd have to agree with her telling me how cute you are."

Rory elbowed Lane in the side. "Shhh! You're killing me here. He'll tease me about this for days, you know." She sent me a warning look, somehow knowing exactly from the expression on my face that I was thinking right back to my threesome comment.

"It's okay Mary, I always knew you thought I was sexy." I laughed. I turned back to Lane and asked, "So, do I satisfy the qualifications required to be a pursuer of Rory?"

"You're definitely different than Dean." She said thoughtfully.

"Aw, thank you." I grinned. "I appreciate that."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Lane and Dean are friends, Tristan."

"Hey, no I didn't mean that in a bad or a good way, really. You're just different."

"It's all right, it's just us, you can say it- Rory upgraded." I winked.

"There actually is something I've always wanted to say," Lane answered, "She's my best friend. You break her heart and I'll break your face."

I was startled and amused by this. Wrapping an arm around Rory's shoulders, I said mock-solemnly that I'd do my best.

"No really, we'll break your face." Rory said cheerfully, patting my chest. "No matter how cute it may be."

I laughed and soon after we went our separate ways, Lane and Rory went off to hang out and I headed back to my car. It was funny, I really had never had any one tell me the break her heart/I'll break your face thing before- which was surprising given my track record I guess. Although after hearing about how the whole town blacklisted Bag Boy after he and Rory broke up, I'm pretty sure Stars Hollow would burn me at the stake if I broke the heart of their angel child.

And listen, it'd be a downright lie if I said I had never broken someone's heart, but the truth is I do honestly try to avoid that if possible. It's true that I relish being a cocky douche bag, but I don't relish causing other people pain- especially in girls who've done nothing but let themselves care about me. So, no, hurting Rory was not in my game plan. But neither was falling for her. So I guess it's either one or the other, isn't it?

I don't do serious things, okay? I've never been in a relationship that lasted more than like two months… hell, I've never really been in a real relationship period. I'm too distracted, too careless, too exuberant. I'll admit it, I'm easily bored.

And I promised her it was different this time and that wasn't a lie- I do care about Rory. I do. But I'm not the kind of guy that could care about her as much as she needs, as much as she would want me to.

I get bored and I don't want to get bored of her. What I've quickly realized is that this girl is different. She _is_ pure. I don't want to ruin that.

I've never been the kind of person to think too far ahead, but because I truly don't want to hurt her, I'm kind of forced to think ahead.

Right now, things are so fun and so good that it feels like a dream. I just don't want to turn into the villain here. Is Rory capable of having a fling? Was I stupid to even entertain the idea?

Was I selfish to sleep with a girl like her in the first place?

A voice I had rarely from before spoke up inside of me that because she was different, maybe I could be different. Maybe I would be different. She had done things she had never thought she would before because of me. Wasn't it possible that she could have the same affect on me? Christ, it was already happening. In all my fantasies of being with her before, it had been about sex, it had been about constant sex…and occasionally I'd entertain the idea of how interesting actual dates would be but never in my delusions had I bothered to think up scenarios where I played the dutiful boyfriend. I don't know if I have it in me to be that guy.

Rory's best friend had said it herself- I am no Dean. I'm not a golden retriever. Rory says she knows that and expects nothing, but I too say that I get that she's not the hook-up type. She swore she wouldn't take us too seriously and I swore I wouldn't take us too lightly. Someone is bound to get hurt in this situation.

I pulled my car back into my garage after the drive home drained the rest of my energy. I had been getting around my whole lack of money issue in relation to gas by simply taking turns on which car I used on my outings. I recognized that this wasn't exactly a practical plan for the long run and eventually I'd just have a lot full of cars running on nearly empty, but I was banking on the hope that the drivers or other help that regularly used the cars would notice the low tank and fill them up, sending the bill to my father.

I shrugged off my coat and made a beeline for my room. A few hours of sleep in the back of a car was not a good nights rest. Lying in my bed made me think about how nice it'd be to have Rory's warmth near me again. I realized that she was right, we had never done the deed on a bed. After the first night, we had actually never fallen asleep together afterwards either. This struck me as oddly cold and I made a note to change that.

That was step one in not treating someone like a friends-with-benefits, right? Having them actually sleep over? I liked the idea of that a whole hell of a lot. I loved waking up with a girl next to me, always had. I mean, I dig the random hook up in q random place a lot too, but there was something intimate about the sleep over. I loved morning sex, I loved shower sex, I loved eating breakfast together, and I loved dropping them off afterwards. And I loved the idea of doing that all with Rory. Regularly.

God, every time I have thoughts like this I have to wonder if I'm just scared of the fact that I do give a rat's ass about her. If my thinking about the future with unease is just me running from something that's so uncharted it freaks me out. Maybe in the way girls justify a hook up as meaning more, I'm so dysfunctional and determined to be flippant that I'm trying to justify something with meaning and make it into something less.

Flopping onto my bed, I sighed and sent Rory a text letting her know that she was completely killing me.

_What do you mean? :P_

_You know what you're doing, you vixen. _

_I'm in a library, so I hope you're not being dirty again :P_

_Hmm. I'm in bed right now ;)_

_Lol, go to sleep then?_

_Wish you were here. _

Five minutes later, my phone started vibrating, indicating that she was calling me. I grinned. "Had to hear my sexy voice, huh?"

"I hate texting." She said. "It's a ridiculous waste of time. But you're obviously a ridiculously needy attention whore, so I thought I'd throw you a bone."

"Ha ha. You know, I was just thinking that we had to have a proper sleep over with you at my house sometime soon but just for that, maybe I'll just invite some porn stars instead."

"I'm sure you'll be calling out Mary regardless." Rory answered. I could hear the eye rolling.

"I am serious though. You should totally sleep here again sometime."

"Your bed is stupidly comfortable."

"Or, we could wait til your mom's out again and sleep at your place. I've never woken up in Stars Hollow."

"What, you want to?"

"I just want to wake up with you, babe." I grinned. A pleased silence was her response. I shook off my shoes and yanked off my jeans. "And just so you know, I'm stripping right now."

"How descriptive of you." She laughed.

"Isn't it though? K, I'm gonna sleep, you go read, we'll have to pencil in a day for me crashing your house for a night sometime soon."

"Okay."

I started to hang up, when Rory added, "It's nice hearing your voice, Tristan."

I laughed, "Yeah, because you haven't heard it in so long."

"Maybe I like phone calls with you."

"Do I have a sexy voice?"

"I think it'd be a chore finding something of yours that isn't." Rory chuckled.

"Mmm, I like hearing that." I grinned.

"Don't let it go to your head."

"You think I'm sexy." I teased. "Impossible to ignore sexy."

"Hey, do you snore?"

"Negative, m'am. Do you?"

"I wouldn't know."

"I'll have to make sure I fall asleep after you next time, then, cutie. Now go, shoo, you're neglecting your best friend."

"Stop texting me!" She ordered. "Or I'll have to call you again and suck up huge amounts of time."

"I dig our bantering. We're brilliantly funny, witty people."

"Go to bed, Tristan."

"That was kind of hot. Say it again." I smirked and laid down on my bed comfortably.

"Bye, Tristan."

"Ooh. Just say my name again."

She laughed and said good bye again.

"See ya Mary."

I threw my phone down to charge and fell asleep with a smile on my face.

xXx

A few nights later, Rory and I had take out on her couch as we watched some hilariously horrible Japanese horror movie. I changed into my favourite sleep clothes afterwards, which was worth it just for the look of surprise on her face.

"You're actually sleeping in something other than boxers?"

"Sleep over, right?" I shrugged. "Plus, didn't you want to save sex in a bed for something special? I figured maybe we could actually just sleep tonight. Besides, sex always knocks me right out and I want to find out if you snore or not."

"I never know what to expect with you." She smiled.

"That's the beauty of it all, isn't it? Now get into your least sexy pyjamas or I might change my mind about a night of abstinence."

"I'll try not to tempt you." She laughed.

As she settled into my chest later that night, I had to smile at how good it all felt. I had never done this before, never just slept in the same bed as a girl. It reminded me of how much I used to love hotels as a kid, sleeping in a different bed, a different place. You could see the stars filtering in through the window and I felt more at home here than I did in my own house.

God, I hope I don't fuck this up.

"So don't."

I looked down in surprise, "I didn't know I said that outloud."

"You're a good guy. And I want to say that I trust you. And I want you to trust you, too."

I smiled and kissed her forehead, watching as she closed her eyes and started to drift off into sleep. But I didn't trust myself not to ruin this. I never did do things that were good for me. I had an addiction to poisoning myself; I got a rush from it that I lived for. This girl might be what I need to change myself for the better, but I wondered if that was even possible. We were two people who were never meant to be together, and yet this didn't feel forced.

I hoped her faith in me would go further than my doubt in us.

xXx

I woke up the next day to find Rory sitting propped against the head board, reading.

I blinked groggily at her and glanced at the clock. It was only eight.

"You really are an early riser, huh?" I half groaned against the slivers of the light filtering through her blinds. I noticed that I had next to no blanket covering me. "…And you're a blanket hog."

"You just like to be sleep with as little covering you as possible, I swear." Rory shrugged, grinning. "So, do I snore?"

I thought for a second. "Nope." I kissed her forehead affectionately.

"Good." She put her book away. "Hey, so I'm starving, but I thought it would be rude to leave while you were asleep- I'm going to go pick up some food okay? Be back in ten minutes, tops."

She kissed me on the lips before slipping out from under the covers.

"Bring me back coffee?"

"Like that even had to be said." Rory laughed.

I let my head fall back to the pillow as I heard the soft click of the front door closing behind her but fought against the urge to fall asleep again. I realized this was the first time I was alone in the Gilmore house and I could explore and satisfy my curiosities. This train of thought struck me as rather obnoxious as soon as the possibility occurred to me and I felt a vague pang of disgust at myself. Never the less, I sat up and ran a hand over my face to rub the sleepiness out of it.

I peeked out the window and stumbled back quickly- my half asleep eyes had locked onto the passing gaze of a middle aged lady out watering flowers. I tripped against Rory's shelf in surprise and fell to the floor with a loud thump, cursing my clumsiness and hoping the woman thought her eyes were just playing tricks on her.

I waited a moment for the trumpeting of sirens that would signal I had been seen and discovered, but when the horde of out raged townies failed to barge through the door, I took a breath, mentally slapped myself for being a little bitch, and turned on some music quietly.

I padded over to Rory's small bathroom and took a piss before splashing some water on my face. I bent over the sink with my eyes closed and when I re-opened them, the first thing I saw in the mirror was the very same set of eyes belonging to the very same woman I had seen a few minutes earlier. It took me a fraction of a second to register what I was really seeing.

Letting out a freaked out yowl, I slammed my hand against the faucet in shock as water stung my eyes.

"AUGHHH!"

The woman screamed just as I did; there we stood in the Gilmore's tiny bathroom, staring each other down and just shrieking.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

I was thanking God that I had chosen to wear clothes to bed the night before.

"Um, m'am, I know this is a startling thing to walk in on-"

"I'M CALLING THE POLICE!"

"NO! I'm a friend of Rory's, I swear!"

At that moment, I heard Rory run in and again thanked whatever God that exists.

"Babette!" Rory blurted out, looking panic stricken. She had two coffees and a bag from Luke's diner in her hands and Babette eyed the items with a mixture of accusation and excitement.

"You know this boy?"

"Yeah, he…" Rory fumbled for some sort of explanation.

"Uh, my car battery ran out the night before when we were studying together so I slept on the couch." I quickly jumped in.

Rory sent me a thoroughly thankful look as Babette's flashing eyes went down a notch. "So you two are friends?"

"Yeah, we go to Chilton together." I said, still a bit breathless.

"I'm tutoring him and he doesn't want anyone to know so that's why we were studying here." Rory added, a little quickly.

I sent her a look that I hoped conveyed the message of _shut up, I've got this. _

The woman eyed us silently for a very tense moment and then broke out into a warm smile. "Ohhh, okay! I'm Babette. I don't think I caught your name, handsome."

My heart stopped ramming itself against my rib cage and I smiled my easy smile. "It's Tristan, m'am. My name's Tristan Dugrey."

"Oh look at you, all the way down from Hartford just to tune up your grades. Isn't that just so swell, Rory?"

"It is, so swell, that's what he is." Rory rambled.

I mentally winced at Rory's obvious nerves but mustered every ounce of charm I had and held out my hand to Babette. "It's very nice to meet you," I smiled.

She shook my hand enthusiastically and we made our way into the kitchen with her talking speedily about how she was out watering her gardenias when she swore she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her from Rory's room, which didn't make sense since she knew Lorelai was out and had just seen Rory walk out the front door.

Imagine her fright when she saw a strange ('And don't take that in the wrong way, sugar, by strange I mean strangely good looking, at least in Stars Hollow, not that Dean wasn't very handsome now Rory, I'm just saying it's a small town and selection is slim') boy in the bathroom, acting like he lived there.

Babette was wandering towards the living room and sensing that she was going to sit down and settle for a while, I put my hand on her back and lightly guided her towards the door instead. "I'm so sorry for worrying you, m'am."

"I thought a burgler had snuck in, or worse." She sent a significant look to Rory and winked at me. "But oh, Lorelai must like you very much Tristan to let you sleep here when she's out of town."

Oh, shit.

"Um, well, my mom, she's, um…"

"Well, the thing is, like I said, I really wasn't planning on sleeping here but my car battery died and it was so late already when it happened, or I would have called to ask her if it was all right if I could stay. But since it was so late, I thought it'd be really rude and worrisome to bother her, I mean I knew I was going to be leaving early any ways."

"Oh." Babette's grin diminished just minutely. "Well, I'll be sure to tell her what a good boy you are next time I see her, tell her not to worry one bit."

"Thank you," I forced a grin, "But really, I don't want to get Rory in trouble. I mean, it took some convincing to have her tutor me since she's so busy and everything and I don't want her mom to get mad at her or anything for not asking if I could crash.'

"Yeah, I mean, if he couldn't come over here to get tutored any more, there's really no where else we could do it and he'll fail and drop out and that would be terrible, just horribly horrible." Rory mumbled.

"And Rory doesn't like me all that much, so I'd really rather not give her another excuse to dislike me." I chuckled. "Believe me, she half wanted me to sleep in my car last night."

"True, so true." Rory nodded fervently.

"…Would you like a croissant?" I injected pleasantly.

"Oh you're such a nice boy," Babette beamed. "Don't you worry son, I won't tell a soul I saw you here. You're much too cute to be a high school drop out." She looked at Rory and stage whispered, "How could you not like him? Making him sleep in his car, honestly, I'd have him right next to me cozy in bed."

I laughed and waved cheerfully at her as she finally started walking out the door.

"See you later, Rory," Babette said, still looking at me.

"See you later, Babette." Rory tried to smile but her voice was shaking.

As soon as she closed the door, Rory slid down to the floor and covered her face. "Oh my God oh my God, OH MY GOD."

"That was fucking close." I let out a long breath and sat down next to her.

"Too close, Tristan." Her hands were shaking.

I wrapped my arms around her. "Hey, it's okay."

She started to pull away from me. "No, no it's not. My neighbour saw you in your pyjamas in my house alone, that's not okay."

I put my arm around her again, coaxingly. "Babe, it's all right. We diffused the situation." I kissed her neck.

I felt her relax slightly in my arms. "You were really good there." She admitted. "Experience, I guess?"

"Yeah, I guess." I brushed it off.

"For once, I'm glad." Rory laughed, and nestled into my chest. "God, I really hope she doesn't tell anyone."

"She said she wouldn't."

"You don't know Babette." Rory said wryly.

"Do you want me to go?" I asked after a moment of silent thinking between the two of us.

"No." She paused. "But you probably should."

We stood up and I took my breakfast to go. "I'll see you soon. Call me if you need me to charm us out of suspicion again." I grinned.

"Maybe we should just stick to hanging out at your place." Rory shook her head.

"Aw but I do love this town."

"And I'm sure this town will love you. Probably too much."

"No such thing."

We kissed each other affectionately. "Bye babe."

"Bye, devil spawn."

"Hey, I saved us in there."

"I know." Rory grinned and kissed me again. "Like I said, you're good."

"Damn right I'm good." I slipped my arms around her waist and kissed her sensually, capturing her lower lip between both of mine, sucking lightly on it until I heard the slight moan escape her. Her hands clung to my back, her fingers digging into the muscles.

"Bye Mary." I smirked.

"Devil. Spawn." She faux-glared at me, a smirk sneaking up on the corners of her lips.

I was smiling as I walked out the door, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't see Babette eyeing me from behind her flowers and I'd be lying if I said she wasn't on the phone with a gigantic grin on her face.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't see the other neighbour peeking out from behind the curtains, a phone visible in her hands as well.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't know that at that exact moment, secrecy was forever broken.

But I'd also be lying if I said I had realized just how out in the open things were about to get.


End file.
